Dreaming Of Home
by bobbiejod
Summary: Derek Morgan becomes a mentor to a young boy at a local foster home facilty for boys. Ryan Atwood shows up in Virginia after running away from his guardians. When Morgan becomes attached to the boy, he makes a drastic decision that will ultimately affect the outcome of his life and the life of the young boy. Crossover with Criminal Minds and The OC. Final chapter up! Please Review!
1. Chapter 1: Derek Meets Ryan

**AN:** Crossover with Criminal Minds and The OC. Takes place roughly first season in both shows. This is a Young Ryan universe with him at eight years old. The majority of this story will be mostly Criminal Minds with Ryan interacting with those characters. The characters from the OC won't be brought up until much later in the story. If any of you haven't seen either one of these shows, I recommend that you try to find some episodes to watch just to get a feel for each show. Anyway, tell me what you all think of this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** I own no one.

Criminal Minds

Early first season CM.

No Gideon.

Rossi is on the team.

Hotch and Haley are divorced.

Jack is four.

Will and JJ are already together.

Henry is two.

Fran Morgan lives in Quantico.

Fran and Dave are married.

Desiree and Sarah still live in Chicago.

The OC

Ryan's dad is in jail.

Ryan's brother ran away.

Ryan's mother walked away from him.

Ryan ran away from his guardians.

Ryan is eight.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Derek Meets Ryan**

Derek Morgan finished his last report and placed it on the pile. He stood up and stretched as he glanced at the time and took out his phone.

"Hey Mark, is it too late to come over? Great, I'll be there in a little bit." He hung up his phone and gathered his things as Prentiss and JJ came out to him.

"Hot date tonight?" JJ asked him.

"Not exactly," he replied. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

He walked towards the elevator and spotted Penelope walking out to him from her office. She smiled brightly as she approached him.

"Hey Baby Girl," he smiled at her. "What are your big plans for tonight?"

"Girls night with Em and Jayje," she smiled at him as she joined him in the elevator. "Are you heading over there now?"

"Yep," he nodded. "I already called Mark."

"Well I did some extra baking today. I put the goodies in your backseat."

"Thanks," he smiled at her. "They love your treats."

"Good," she smiled as they reached the parking garage. "I'll see you tomorrow, Hot Stuff."

"Count on it, Baby Girl." he got into his car and pulled away from the government building.

A few minutes later, Derek parked against the curb in front of a state-run building. He grabbed Penelope's treats before climbing out of the car and walking through the doors of the all-boys orphanage; he scanned all the rooms, looking for his friend who practically ran it. He had been volunteering here for several months now and enjoyed being a mentor to the young boys who were living in the facility temporarily.

He always wanted to make a difference. He knew he did that every day with his job, but it was different when he came here. These boys had nothing; and for a few short hours, he hoped he gave them a little reprieve from their thoughts of hopelessness of ever finding a family. And he made sure he was a much better mentor to these boys than the one he had growing up.

"Derek," he smiled as he finally found his friend. "More treats from Penelope?"

"Of course," Derek placed them down on the table in the recreation room. "So is there anything new since the last time I was here?"

"We have a new addition," Mark pointed to the corner of the room, where a young boy of about eight was sitting by himself in the corner as he read a thick book. "He was found at the bus station this morning. Apparently he had been traveling in the luggage compartment for two days."

"So what's his story?"

"All we could get out of him was his first name: Ryan. Because all the kids here need a last name, we've given him the last name of Smith."

"That's creative," Morgan smiled at him. "Do you know anything about him?"

"He doesn't talk much; even when we speak directly to him, which tells me that he was silenced in his old environment. We've spotted some bruises, so it's a safe assumption that he was abused, most likely physically as well as emotionally."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"You have a way with the kids here," Mark glanced at him. "I think he may be into sports, so I think that could be your in."

"I will do my best," Morgan started across the room, where Ryan was curled up on a bean bag chair. "Hey, are you Ryan?"

The young boy looked up at him with inquisitive eyes. His shaggy dark blond hair fell down, barely concealing the baby blue eyes. He eyed Derek suspiciously as he slowly sat down on the floor across from him.

"So is your name Ryan?" he tried again. "That's what my friend Mark told me."

"Yes," Ryan's quiet voice came out.

"My name's Derek Morgan, and I work for the FBI." he held out his hand for him to shake as Ryan's eyes got big and he saw him starting to panic.

"Whoa, I'm not here to arrest you." Derek assured him. "I just wanted to tell you what my job was."

Ryan nodded briefly at him before giving Derek another suspicious look and returned to his book. Morgan sighed deeply as he thought of ways to try to break down the walls that the kid had built up around him. He knew he had been perfecting it for years; he recognized it because that's what he did.

"So I hear you're into sports," Morgan tried again. "Do you like watching football? Any favorite teams?"

"Dolphins….49ers,"

"Really? Those are your teams?"

"You have to root for the under dogs. They always surprise you."

"Yes they do," Derek smiled. "So what book are you reading?"

Mark watched from across the room as Derek was able to break through to Ryan and they started a lengthy conversation. He knew that Derek was the right person to get through to him; he just had a way with these kids.

* * *

A little while later, Mark silently approached the two of them and heard them talking about book genres; Ryan said he liked fantasy, which Derek started listing off titles that he had read. Ryan looked up and tensed as he saw Mark standing there.

"Sorry to interrupt," Mark looked at Derek. "But it's time for Ryan to get settled for the night. We have a strict schedule here."

"I remember. I just didn't realize it was so late," Morgan looked at his watch.

"There are some pajamas on the bed in your room," Mark looked at Ryan. "Along with a tooth brush, tooth paste, and some towels for when you take a shower."

"Go on kid," Derek told him. "I'll come back and we can hang out again."

"Really?" Ryan started to smile, but stopped himself.

"Of course," Derek smiled at him. "We can hang out whenever I don't have to be out of town for a case."

Ryan clambered out of the bean bag chair and shuffled out of the room. Derek slowly stood up from his spot on the floor and Mark walked him out of the building.

"I don't know how you do it man," Mark told him as they reached Derek's car. "I couldn't get him to say two words to anyone. You had an entire conversation with him for over an hour."

"He totally freaked when I told him I was FBI," Derek looked at him. "Like he thought I was going to arrest him or something."

"All the kids here are a little skittish."

"Hey, am I allowed to take him out of the facility?"

"It depends what you have in mind."

"He said he likes sports. I know there's a basketball court down the street here. I was just going to take him to shoot hoops."

"I think that would be ok. You just have to sign him out. Make sure it's on my shift though. The others-"

"I understand," Derek smiled as he climbed into his car. "We might get another case, but I'll call you when it's done."

"Got it," Mark waved to Derek as he drove off and walked back into the facility.

* * *

Derek reached his house and let himself in. Clooney came barreling up to him and he scratched his head. He placed his things on his counter as his cell phone beeped with a new text message. He sighed deeply, hoping there wasn't another case already.

He opened it up and saw that the message was from Rossi; 'Call your mother. She hasn't heard from you in three days. She's worried about you.'

Derek dialed his mom's number as he went to get a drink after letting Clooney out. He heard it ring a few times before someone answered.

"Hey Ma," he sighed as he stood on his porch to keep an eye on Clooney.

"Derek!" he pulled the phone from his ear briefly. "Dave said you left work hours ago. I tried calling you. I have been worried sick!"

"Sorry I didn't call earlier." He collapsed back on the couch after letting Clooney back inside.

"Where have you been?"

"I was volunteering at the orphanage uptown."

"Oh. You don't usually stay this long."

"There was a new kid. Mark wanted me to try to get through to him. I think I did."

"Tell me about him,"

"The only thing Mark got out of him was his first name, Ryan. They gave him the last name Smith."

"How'd he come to the orphanage?"

"He was found at the bus station this morning. He had been hiding in the luggage compartment for two days. He doesn't speak much. Mark thinks he was abused both physically and mentally."

"Poor thing,"

"He's into sports so I thought I would take him to shoot hoops or something the next time I go."

"That's a great idea," Fran could hear the exhaustion in her son's voice. "I'll let you go so you can get some sleep."

"I'll try to stop over tomorrow."

"That'll be great." Derek hung up his phone and started upstairs as his mind drifted back to Ryan and he thought of ways how he would be able to break through to him.

* * *

Fran silently walked into her bedroom and climbed into bed beside her husband. He turned over and looked at her as he put his book down.

"Well?"

"He was at the orphanage,"

"I told you," Dave smiled at her.

"All right, fine, you were right."

"If he's not at work, he's there." He told her. "He really has a way with those kids. And he's committed. No matter how tired he is after a case, he makes sure that he stops by to spend time with them."

"He was telling me about a new kid that he met tonight. Just the way he was talking-I don't know. There was just something in his voice. I think that this time is different."

"Ever since he started volunteering, we've all been waiting for the day he comes in to tell us that he wants to adopt one of them."

"I'm waiting for that day too." Fran turned out the light and they got settled in for the night. "And I have a feeling that day may be soon."

* * *

 **AN:** With Criminal Minds, Morgan and Garcia aren't together, but I want them to eventually get together possibly with a little help from Ryan. Also, the team doesn't know about Carl Buford yet. I'm debating whether or not I want to work that into this story. Anyway PLZ R&R!


	2. Chapter 2: Ryan Meets Penelope

**AN:** So I started a second job today; baby-sitting my friend's six-month-old. It's been awhile since I've had to get up this early. On the plus side, when he goes down for his naps is when I find myself able to write more. So here's the next chapter for all of you. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I wasn't sure about posting this crossover story, but I'm glad you guys liked it.

 **AN2:** So a few of you Criminal Minds readers say that you didn't watch The OC. Unfortunately, I think the only way you can watch the episodes is if you have the DVDs or if you can find them on YouTube since it's not on Netflix.

Here's the basic outline of the show:

Ryan lives in Chino. Gets arrested with his older brother when his brother decides to steal a car. His Public Defender is Sandy Cohen, who gives Ryan his card when he gets him out of custody and sees what kind of shape his mother is in. His mother is a trainwreck with substance abuse problems and a revolving door of boyfriends who all treat Ryan like crap. She throws Ryan out of the house and he calls Sandy Cohen. He picks him up, takes him back to Newport with him and Ryan is suddenly out of his element when the Cohen's eventually become his guardians after Ryan's mother abandons him for a second time.

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Ryan Meets Penelope**

Derek rushed through his paperwork and grabbed his things as he headed towards Hotch's office. Emily and Reid looked up from their desks as they saw Derek talking to Hotch briefly before rushing towards the elevators.

"How can he be done already?" Emily asked. "I just barely started mine."

"He's been acting really strange lately," Reid looked at her. "He rushes through his files and rushes out almost immediately after he's finished."

They turned as they heard excited chatter and saw that Garcia had stopped to talk to Derek as he reached the elevator. He accepted a tin from her that they knew was filled with sweets. Derek smiled at her as he stepped into the elevator and Garcia walked towards the bullpen.

"What was that about?" Emily asked as Garcia passed them.

"He's volunteering tonight," she told them. "I just gave him the snacks I made for all the kids. I still have work to do so I won't be able to drop them off myself."

"Why don't they just admit that they like each other?" Reid commented as Garcia started back to her office. "It's obvious to everyone else but them."

"Those two are definitely hiding something else though," Emily told him.

"Yeah, but they'll never tell us." Reid told her.

"then we just have to find out what it is ourselves," Emily smiled at him as they both went back to their work.

* * *

Derek pulled up to the orphanage and walked inside to find Mark. He found his office and walked in to see him working on his computer.

"Derek," he smiled at his friend. "You're back. How was the case?"

"It was a tough one," Derek sighed. "Is it ok to take Ryan out today?"

"Of course, let's go get him." They started to walk out of the office.

"How's he been?"

"I don't know what you guys talked about the last time you were here, but you really made an impression on him."

"What do you mean?"

"He asks if you're coming everyday."

"Seriously?" Derek looked at him. "We just talked abouts sports and books."

"Well you definitely made an impact on him."

"He doesn't act like that with anyone else?"

"No one," Mark told him. "He's still quiet. His teachers at school say that he's very articulate in his work. He just doesn't participate in class."

"Maybe he's afraid of getting it wrong in front of everyone."

"He brings back A's and B's on all his papers." They walked into the rec room and found Ryan reading in the corner again. "This is where we usually find him."

"Hey Ryan," Derek called out to him and he looked up abruptly.

"You came back," he smiled as Derek slowly approached him.

"I told you I would. Do you feel like getting out of here for a couple hours?"

"Where will we go?" Ryan slowly stood up.

"I thought we could shoot some hoops down the street. Is that ok?"

"Sure," Ryan shrugged as they started to walk out of the rec room and started down the hall.

"What's going on here?" the three of them stopped at a stern voice and Ryan tensed and hid behind Derek.

"Director Steel," Mark nodded at him. "Agent Morgan is taking Ryan out for a couple hours. I've already approved it."

"Come on kid," Derek started to lead Ryan outside.

"Just be back by eight," Mark called after them.

"Got it," Derek took Ryan outside and he seemed to relax. "The basketball court is only a couple blocks away. We can just walk."

"Ok," Ryan waited as Derek got the basketball from his car and they started walking down the street. "It's been two weeks."

"What?" Derek looked down at Ryan.

"It's been two weeks since you first came," Ryan said softly.

"I'm sorry kid," Derek stopped walking and looked at him. "My team-we got a big case and I just got back this morning."

"Where did you have to go?"

"Philadelphia," he told him. "Don't ask me any of the details about the case. I don't want to scare you."

"What do you do for the FBI?"

"I work with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. My team and I study behavior to try to track down the unsubs."

"Unwhat?"

"Unsubs. It's what we call the bad guys. It means unknown subject."

"How big is your team?"

"There are seven of us…." Derek started telling him all about the team as they started walking down the street again.

They reached the basketball court and Derek suggested they take a few practice shots before they play a game of Horse. They were well into their third game of Horse and Derek's shirt was sticking to him because of the sweat dripping off of his body. They each had won a game; they were now playing a tie-breaker game before calling it quits.

"Looking good Handsome," Derek turned around at the familiar voice and smiled as he saw Penelope standing behind the fence watching them play.

"Hey Baby Girl, what are you doing here?" he walked over to where she was standing.

"I ran out of my coffee this morning so I'm walking to get some more so I have some wake-me-up in the morning." she told him as she saw the young boy trying to hide behind Derek.

"It's ok Ryan," Derek pulled him out. "This is my friend Penelope. I just told you about her. She works with me."

"The Tech Queen," Ryan said softly.

"That's right," he smiled down at him. "She's also the one who makes all those goodies I bring to the orphanage."

"You make them all?" Ryan looked at her.

"I sure do. I love to bake." Penelope smiled at him.

"They're really good," Ryan told her.

"Thank you. I'm glad you like them." Penelope couldn't stop smiling at him. "So what are you two up to?"

"Mark let me take him out of the facility," Derek told her. "So we decided to play Horse; well I decided. Next time we'll do something he wants to do."

"So who's winning?"

"We both won a game each. This is the tie-breaker."

"So what's the winner get?"

"We're just going to get some ice cream after we're done."

"Well I will let you continue your game," Penelope smiled at them. "I hope to see you again soon, Ryan. And I'll see you at work in the morning, Hot Stuff."

"Be careful, Baby Girl!" Derek called as she started walking down the sidewalk again.

"It's only a couple of blocks!" she called back as she disappeared around the corner.

"Are you guys together?" Ryan asked suddenly as Derek went to find the ball.

"Together?" Derek looked down at him.

"Dating,"

"No," Derek chuckled. "We're just friends."

"Then why do you use nicknames and-"

"That's just the way we talk to each other."

"Sure," Ryan gave him a strange look.

"So where are we at?" Derek located the ball in the corner of the court.

"I have H-O," Ryan told him. "You have H-O-R."

"All right," Derek took the ball and took another shot.

A little while later, Derek walked with Ryan into a nearby ice cream shoppe. They walked to the counter and Derek told Ryan to get whatever he wanted. They sat at a corner table with their treats and Derek tried to get to know him more.

"So how is it at the orphanage?" Derek asked him and he shrugged. "Do you get along with the other kids?"

"They're ok," he said softly. "But some of them cry a lot."

"Some of them don't know how to cope."

"I know, but they keep me up at night."

"Ok, how about school? Do you just stay at the orphanage for school?"

"We take a bus to the local public school. It's boring there."

"What do you mean?"

"The classes are easy. I get my homework done before I even leave school. I fall asleep in class sometimes."

"Do you have a favorite class?"

"Right now, I guess Art. We're learning about famous artists right now."

Derek kept trying to break through to him, but all his answers were short. It was starting to get dark when Derek and Ryan finally walked back to the orphanage. They found Mark waiting for them out front and he slowly stood up as they approached him. Ryan, who was talking Derek's ear off about something that happened in the school cafeteria, immediately clammed up.

"Ryan, go on in and get ready for bed." Mark told him and he nodded.

"I'll see you soon," Derek called after him and turned to Mark as the door closed behind him. "All right, man. What's going on?"

"After you left with Ryan, Director Steel, well he laid into me about letting you take him out."

"What's the problem? All we did was shoot hoops and we went out for ice cream."

"He's the only one who has a problem with it. The board has no problem with you taking him out." Mark told him. "Ryan barely talks when he's here, but when he's with you he's different."

"What do you mean?"

"His eyes light up when he sees you, he talks a mile a minute when he's around you."

"I've only met him twice,"

"There's a connection there though."

"He's a good kid."

"I think it's a good thing if you continue to do what you've been doing. You guys are good for each other."

"Well I definitely want to spend more time with him."

"I guess I'll see you around then."

"Absolutely," they said their goodbyes and Derek climbed into his car.

* * *

Derek suddenly found himself standing in front of Penelope's apartment door. He slowly reached up and knocked softly, not knowing if she was even still awake. The door swung open suddenly and Penelope was smiling back at him.

"Hot Stuff, what are you doing here?"

"I need some advice,"

"Come in," she held the door open and he walked in. "I was making some cocoa before I went to bed. Do you want some?"

"If you were getting ready to go to bed, I can go."

"You're here and you need to talk, so it's fine."

"Then I would love some cocoa," he slowly sat down on her couch as she disappeared into her kitchen.

She came back out to him with a tray filled with two mugs, a bag of marshmallows and some graham crackers.

"Thank you," he took the offered cup.

"So what's this about?" she looked at him in concern.

"All right," he sighed. "I've had a thought creeping into my head recently and it kind of makes me want to make a big decision that would impact my life greatly. It's a crazy thought and if anyone can talk me out of this, it's you."

"You sound like me with your rambling. So just tell me what's going on."

"Ok," Derek sighed. "I've been volunteering at the orphanage a lot more and lately I keep thinking what it would be like to foster a child."

"Would you happen to have a particular kid in mind?" She smiling, knowing what his answer would be.

"You met him earlier," he looked at her.

"So I'm going to presume that these thoughts started when you met Ryan?" he nodded. "So what's so different about him that you've only just now thought about fostering? After all that time you spent mentoring other boys."

"I don't know how I know this, but I feel like we're the same. In terms of our backgrounds, I mean. I don't know how I can sense it, but I can."

"He seems like a good kid. From just the small amount of time that I was with you two earlier, I can tell that he's attached to you."

"But I'm crazy right? Fostering a child-we have crazy schedules, we have to travel all over for our jobs-"

"Stop it right there," she interrupted him. "Maybe it would be different if you didn't have some sort of support system already in place. Your mom lives nearby; she can help you. She can watch him while you're out of town, take him to and pick him up from school when you have to work late. Hotch and JJ have toddlers and they seem to make it work."

"But this is still a crazy thought."

"Handsome, no offense, but we've all been waiting for you to make some kind of announcement like this ever since you started volunteering there."

"What?"

"The way you are with all those kids-"

"So you don't think I'm crazy for even considering this?"

"I think that kid would be lucky to have you in his life." Penelope told him. "And Ryan seems like a good kid. You guys would even each other out."

"I should go," Derek stood up. "I have some thinking to do."

"Don't fret Handsome," she walked him to the door. "Everything will work out how it's supposed to."

"Hey, until I figure everything out, can you not-"

"Your secret is safe with me," she smiled at him.

"Thank you, Baby girl." He slowly walked back out to his car as Penelope watched after him.

"It's only a matter of time," she stated as she closed her door behind her.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. I will try to post again soon. PLZ R&R!


	3. Chapter 3: Ryan Meets Fran And Dave

**AN:** Another update for you guys. I realized that I never said how old Ryan was so it is said in this chapter. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Ryan Meets Dave And Fran**

As the next several weeks went by, Derek spent all his free time with Ryan at the orphanage or taking him on outings. As they spent more and more time together, Derek came closer to making a final decision. He had already talked to Mark about it; told him that he was still torn. Mark told him to continue what he was doing; that way if he did decide to make this major decision, he would already have spent numerous one-on-one time with Ryan. So Derek continued to put in the time to get to know Ryan more all the while fretting about his final decision.

Every time Derek and Ryan hung out together, they always did something different each time. One time it was tossing a football at a local park, another time they rode go-carts at a Family Fun Center. The last time they hung out, Ryan said he always wanted to learn how to ride a horse. Thanks to Garcia, he found a place that offered free one-day lessons, and they both learned together. If it was anyone other than Ryan that asked him, he would've said no because he was walking funny for several days after that.

* * *

Morgan set his go-bag down on his bedroom floor before falling onto his bed. Their latest case kept them away for almost two weeks. Finally they cracked down on the unsub and they all practically raced down to the airstrip after he was booked and processed.

Derek's eyes shot open when he heard his phone start to ring. He decided to ignore it and fell back asleep. His eyes shot open again when he heard his phone go off again. He sighed as he reached over for it and flipped it open.

"Yeah,"

"Derek Morgan!" he pulled the phone from his ear as his mom yelled into his ear.

"Ma?" he put the phone back to his ear. "It's the middle of the night. I just got home. What's the matter? What's going on?"

"Did you really think that I wouldn't find out?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I know about Ryan,"

"Yeah, he's a kid that I'm kind of mentoring at the orphanage."

"You've taken him on several outings,"

"How do you know that?"

"A little birdie told me."

"Garcia?"

"Actually Dave told me. Penelope knows?"

"She met him-very briefly. She was walking to her favorite coffee shop when she saw us playing basketball."

"I would like to meet him."

"Ma," he sighed deeply.

"He's obviously very important to you. I would like to meet him soon."

"I'll call Mark and see if I can get him for the day-"

"Thank you,"

"When it's daylight out. After I get some sleep. I've only slept two hours over the past four days."

"All right. Just call me when you know anything."

"Got it," Derek ended the call and fell back into a deep sleep.

* * *

By late morning, Derek was driving across town with Clooney in his back seat. Mark said the board had approved Derek for his first overnight with Ryan, so he was headed to the playing field where Ryan was having his first soccer practice. He had called his mom informing her and she had immediately started making lunch plans for all of them.

Morgan pulled up to the park entrance and put his car in park. He opened the back door and clipped the leash onto Clooney's collar before letting him out of the car. He spotted Mark standing by the fence watching the group of kids run across the soccer field and he slowly approached him.

"Hey," Mark smiled at him. "The kid is good."

"I see that," Derek watched as one of the other kids kicked the ball to Ryan and he kicked it into the goal. "I didn't think the kids from the orphanage did any extracurricular activities."

"The Parks and Recreation open the sign-ups to all the kids. Ryan is one of the few that wanted to join. We encourage them all to join some kind of outside activity. I think they only join to get out of the orphanage for a few hours every day."

"I would if I had to live there," Derek glanced at him. "No offense."

"It can be depressing," Mark nodded. "But I can't do much about it. The director runs the show. I'm only second-in-command."

They heard a whistle blow and all the kids ran over to the coaches to get some water. After a brief huddle all the kids were released to their parents. Ryan started walking towards the area of fence where he knew Mark was, but took off at a sprint when he spotted Morgan.

"Derek!" he ran to him as he pulled up the fence latch. "You're back!"

"Hey kid," he knelt down to his eye level. "You played great out there."

"It was only practice,"

"You were still great."

"Who's that?" Ryan saw Derek holding the leash.

"This is my dog Clooney," he pulled the pug out in front of Ryan.

"Is he nice?" Ryan slowly approached him.

"He is the most friendliest dog you'll ever meet," Derek smiled as Ryan held out his hand for Clooney to sniff before he started licking his face.

"Easy boy," Derek pulled him back.

"He's silly," Ryan giggled as Derek stood up again.

"We have a surprise for you Ryan." Mark interrupted them.

"What kind of surprise?" Ryan suddenly got uneasy.

"How would you like to have an overnight visit with Derek?"

"Really?" Ryan seemed to relax again.

"Really," Mark handed Derek an overnight bag. "Everything you'll need is in there."

"Great," Derek smiled as they walked towards their cars. "I did make plans for us for lunch though, kid."

"What kind of plans?" Ryan looked up at him.

"How would you like to meet my mom and step-dad?"

"David Rossi, the crime novelist?"

"How do you know that he's a crime novelist?"

"I've read his books,"

"We have a few of his books at the center," Mark told him. "They're for the older kids, but we sometimes catch Ryan reading them."

"Don't you think he's a little young to be reading that kind of thing?" Derek looked at his friend.

"It doesn't seem to faze him," Mark responded. "You know what that usually means."

"He's probably lived through worse," Derek sighed as he opened the back door of his car and Ryan climbed in behind Clooney. "They really want to meet you, Ryan. Dave has a dog named Mudgie. Clooney likes playing with her."

"You just need to have him back at the center at eight tomorrow night." Mark told him as he climbed in behind the wheel.

"Not a problem," Derek smiled as he started up his car. "Buckle up kid."

"Got it," Derek heard the click and pulled away from the park. "It was bad, wasn't it?"

"What was bad?" Derek glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

"The case you just finished," Ryan said softly. "You're smiling, but I can see that you're sad."

"It was bad," Derek told him. "But I don't want to talk about work. I don't want to scare you."

"I bet I've seen worse,"

"Like what?"

"Nevermind," Ryan mumbled. "Is it weird?"

"Is what weird?"

"Is it weird that your mom married someone that you work with?"

"It was at first, but he makes my mom happy. That's all that matters to me."

Derek started to slow down and pulled up a circle drive. Ryan stared up at the house in awe as Derek turned off the engine.

"This is where they live?"

"Yeah, it's a mansion." Derek climbed out of the front and opened the back door to let Ryan and Clooney out. "Come on kid."

"What if they don't like me?" Ryan pulled on Derek's hand.

"They are going to love you," Derek smiled down at him. "They want to meet you so much."

"Ok," Ryan slowly followed behind him as they walked up the steps and Derek let them into the house.

"Ma?" Derek called out.

"We're in the kitchen," they heard a voice call out and he slowly led Ryan down the hall and he saw two people working at the counter. "There he is."

Ryan stayed by Derek's side as Fran and Dave walked closer to him. He hid behind him and tightened his grip on his arm. Derek slowly pulled him out and smiled down at him.

"It's all right kid," he told him. "This is my mom and step-dad."

"Hi," Ryan said softly.

"Hello Ryan," Fran smiled as she knelt down in front of him. "My name is Fran. It is very good to meet you finally."

"I see you brought Clooney," Dave spoke up. "Why don't we take him out back where Mudgie is so they can play together."

"Good idea," Fran stood up. "It'll still be awhile before lunch is ready."

"Come on Ryan," Dave took his hand. "I'll show you the backyard."

Fran watched them walk towards the back of the house and smiled as her son sat at the kitchen island as she started to finish up lunch.

"So how old is he?" she asked him.

"Eight," Derek responded.

"There's too much wisdom in his eyes. Almost like he's too old to have such a young body."

"Whatever happened to him aged him; it most likely made him grow up too fast."

"He seems like a good kid," she commented.

"He is," Derek agreed. "He's just a little timid around new people."

"He seems very attached to you though."

"Mark says that he barely speaks to anyone at the orphanage or at school, but he talks a mile a minute when I'm around him."

"You have a way with him."

"I don't know what it is," Derek told her. "I've kind of become attached to him."

"And vice versa," she smiled at him. "He sticks to your side."

"I think he's had a bad upbringing. I can just feel it."

"It sounds like he's having fun out there," Fran smiled as they heard barking and loud squeals. "Why don't you go check on him. I've got this. I'll come get all of you when it's done."

"Got it," Derek got up and walked out the back door where he found Ryan running around the yard with Clooney and Mudgie as he kept taking turns throwing a ball and a frisbee towards them.

"He hasn't said anything more to me," Dave told him. "But his eyes lit up when I showed him where Mudgie's toys were."

"Don't take it personally," Derek joined him at the patio table. "I have a feeling that his childhood wasn't the greatest."

"I figured as much," Dave looked over at him. "So a little birdie let something slip out. About your plans for Ryan-"

"Garcia told you," Derek sighed

"I'm surprised she kept it to herself for this long. You know she can't keep a secret. Especially if she's this excited about the news."

"You haven't told-" he looked back towards the house.

"Believe me, if I had told her, she would've said something to you the moment you walked through the door."

"Yeah, going on and on about grandbabies," Derek smiled. "Thanks for not saying anything to her, but you know you'll pay for that when she finally finds out."

"I know it," Dave smiled as they watched Ryan run for the ball as Clooney and Mudgie jumped on top of him. "You guys are good for each other. I haven't seen you like this in a long time."

"All right you guys," Fran came out to them. "Everything is all ready."

"Ryan!" Derek stood up as he called out to him. "Time to get washed up!"

"Ok," he wriggled away from the dogs and followed Derek back inside.

Derek took Ryan to the downstairs bathroom to wash up and they walked back out to where Dave and Fran were setting everything out on the table.

"Can I help?" Ryan asked softly.

"I think we've got everything kiddo." Dave told him.

"I want to help."

"Here," Fran handed him a stack of glasses. "You set those on the table while I get the lemonade."

"Ok," Ryan walked to the dining table as Fran followed behind him.

"That was interesting," Dave looked over at Derek as they prepared to take the food to the table.

"Yeah, Mark warned me about that." Derek told him. "He's a little too overly helpful. Almost as if he's trying to earn his keep."

"I guess we'll have to try to get him out of that way of thinking," they went to set all the food out on the table and sat down with Fran and Dave sitting facing Derek and Ryan.

"Do you like lasagna Ryan?" Fran asked him.

"I think so," he said softly as he slowly ate what was in front of him.

"So you just got back from soccer practice," Rossi looked at him. "Are you good?"

"I'm not sure," Ryan shrugged. "But it gets me out of the orphanage."

"He's really good," Derek spoke up. "I watched his practice. He made a few goals while I was there."

"Everybody did," Ryan told them. "It was only practice anyway."

"He's still good," Derek told his mom and step-dad.

Ryan slowly opened up to them bit by bit as lunch continued. Once everyone was finished eating, they all cleared off the table. Dave led Ryan from the dining area as Derek helped his mom load up the dishwasher and put the finishing touches on the dessert. Dave led Ryan into the sitting room where there was a big sectional couch and a flat screen mounted on the wall. Ryan slowly sat on the couch as Dave picked up a controller for a gaming console.

"You play the XBOX?" Ryan looked at him.

"No," Dave chuckled. "But we have get togethers here all the time. We make sure the little ones are entertained."

"I'm not much of a player," Ryan saw him power up the system.

"That's all right. Why don't we pick out a movie? I have Netflix on here." Dave brought up the menu and handed the controller to Ryan. "You pick something out."

"Can I ask you something?" Ryan looked over at Dave as he scrolled through the many titles.

"Anything kid,"

"Are Derek and Penelope together? Derek said they're not, but-"

"Ah, so you've seen them interact with each other." Dave chuckled.

"They talk to each other using nicknames. Don't only married people and people who are dating do that?"

"They definitely have a very different friendship."

"Just a friendship?" Ryan questioned.

"That's what they tell us,"

"Oh," Ryan had a confused expression on his face as he continued to search for something to watch.

"Between you and me," Dave leaned closer to Ryan and lowered his voice. "I think those two belong together; indefinitely."

"Me too," Ryan smiled at him.

"Don't worry kid. Me and Fran are working on a plan to make them realize that they belong together."

"What kind of plan?"

"We don't have it all worked out yet," Dave saw Derek still in the kitchen with Fran. "But when we do, we will let you know. We may need your help."

"Count me in," Ryan smiled as he picked out a movie.

Derek came into them with a big plate of chocolate chip cookies that his mom told him to take in with him. He placed the dish on the glass coffee table in front of them and sat back as Ryan loaded a movie.

"So what are we watching?" he asked him.

"Mighty Ducks," Ryan grabbed a cookie as Clooney and Mudgie came in and jumped onto the couch beside Ryan.

"An underdog movie?"

"Yep,"

"Underdog movie?" Dave asked as Fran joined them.

"This movie starts out with this pee wee hockey team not winning any games; it's the worst team in the league. And by the end of the movie, they win the championship."

"Ryan always roots for the underdog," Derek told them.

"The underdogs always surprise you." Ryan stated as the movie started and they all settled in.

They all watched the movie together as Derek and Ryan had to explain the rules of hockey to Fran so that she would understand some of the movie. The movie was almost over when Fran looked over and smiled at the sight that she saw; both Derek and Ryan were sound asleep with Ryan resting his head against Derek's side. Both Clooney and Mudgie were curled up next to Ryan fast asleep as well.

"Dave," she shook him and he looked over at her.

"I'm on it," he took out his phone and snapped a picture. "Garcia would never forgive me if I didn't send this to her."

"Send it to my phone," Fran smiled. "It's my new screen saver."

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. PLZ R&R!


	4. Chapter 4: Bonding With Ryan

**AN:** Another update for you guys. Hope you like it. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Bonding With Ryan**

Derek and Ryan stayed at Fran and Dave's for several more hours. Fran kept trying to get them to stay longer by bringing out more and more sweets, which Ryan took willingly. It was starting to get dark out when Derek finally forced his way out the door with Ryan. Derek held the back car door open for Clooney and Ryan to climb in and he pulled out of the driveway.

A few minutes later, Derek pulled up his driveway and turned off the car. He got out and opened the back door for Ryan and Clooney and they headed into the house.

"I'll give you the tour tomorrow," Derek told Ryan as he slowly followed him in and Ryan nodded. "We should get ready for bed."

Derek grabbed Ryan's overnight bag and led him up the stairs and into a bathroom that connected to a bedroom.

"This is the guest bathroom and bedroom," Derek told him. "For now anyway."

"What do you mean?" Ryan looked up at him.

"Later," Derek told him. "You go ahead and take a shower. There's shampoo and soap that you can use and some towels hanging up for when you're done. Mark packed up some pajamas for you. And don't forget to brush your teeth."

"Ok," Ryan said softly.

"I'll be in the living room when you're done," Ryan nodded and Derek walked out to give him some privacy.

A half hour later, Derek decided to go check on Ryan when he didn't come down to him. He approached the bathroom and knocked softly.

"Hey kid, are you ok in there?"

"Yeah,"

"Can you let me in?" the door opened and Ryan stood there in a pair of sweat pants and a white t-shirt.

His hair was still damp and he was putting everything back in his bag.

"Are you ready for bed?"

"I guess," he shrugged.

Derek led him through the connecting door and flipped on the light. There was a bed in the middle of the room with dark blue sheets and comforter spread out over it. There was a small table next to the bed with a small lamp on it. There was a dresser across the room and a few simple pictures hanging up on the walls.

"It's not much, but it's all yours tonight." Derek helped him cover after he had climbed up. "My room is right across the hall. You can come get me if you need anything no matter how late it is."

"Ok," Ryan said softly as he lay down.

"And I'll leave the hallway light on."

"I'm not scared of the dark." Ryan grumbled.

"I know. It's mostly for me. Sometimes I get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. I leave the light on so I don't run into anything."

"Oh," they both looked over as the door slowly opened and watched as Clooney pushed it open enough for him to fit through and came into them.

"Looks like someone wants to stay in here," Derek smiled as the pug jumped onto the bed beside Ryan and lay down. "Is that ok?"

"Yeah," Ryan smiled.

"Ok. Good night, kid. I'll see you in the morning." Derek got up off the bed.

"Good night," Ryan turned over onto his side.

Derek glanced back one more time before turning out the light and shutting the door, leaving it open just a crack. He went downstairs to lock up and make sure everything was off and headed back upstairs.

He walked into his bedroom to start getting ready to turn in for the night. He felt really content having Ryan across the hall; maybe he should start making the appropriate steps to make Ryan a permanent part of his life.

* * *

"Derek," he heard a whispered voice near him. "Derek."

He slowly opened his eyes and saw Ryan standing in the middle of his room. He sat up and rubbed his eyes as Ryan came closer.

"What's the matter, buddy?"

"I can't sleep," Ryan said softly.

"Climb up," Derek told him and he climbed up on the other side of Derek. "So why can't you sleep?"

"I don't know,"

"Maybe it's because it's a new place," Derek told him as they both lay back down.

"Maybe," Ryan said sleepily.

"Try to get some sleep," Derek gave up most of his covers. "But I'll be right beside you the whole time."

"Ok," Ryan mumbled as they both eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Ooh, that's a good one." Derek slowly drifted out of his dream state at the familiar voice as he saw a flash of light.

He opened his eyes and saw Penelope standing in the doorway of his bedroom with her phone out pointing it at him. He glanced next to him and saw Ryan curled up next to him fast asleep with Clooney stretched out on the other side of Ryan in a protective gesture.

"Good morning, Hot Stuff." Penelope chirped.

"What are you doing here so early, Baby Girl?" he slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"I got up this morning and discovered a picture text from Dave," she smiled. "So I texted him and he told me that you had your first overnight with Ryan."

"So you rushed right over?" he followed her out of the room.

"Not right over," she told him as they reached downstairs. "I decided to get some of those pastries you like from the bakery by my apartment. Hopefully Ryan will like them."

"I'm going to let Ryan sleep," he poured himself a cup of coffee that Penelope had already brewed for him. "I don't think he got a lot of sleep last night. New place."

"Understandable," she smiled. "So how was it?"

"We spent most of yesterday at mom and Dave's. We got home and went right to bed."

"So what time are you taking him back?"

"Mark told me to have him back by eight."

"Great, so what are we showing him today?"

"Baby Girl,"

"What? He's important to you, so he's important to me. I want to get to know him better. What does he like?"

"He just joined soccer."

"And?"

"And I know his favorite subject is art."

"Well that's a start. I can work with that."

"He doesn't talk much." Derek told her.

"We even each other out since I know I talk way too much."

"Not as much as Reid does,"

"I can't argue with that." She smiled at him.

"Derek?" they turned as they heard a voice call down to them.

"Down here buddy." He watched as Ryan slowly came down to them followed by Clooney. "Are you ok?"

Ryan shook his head as Derek noticed his pale complexion. Ryan went to him and Derek picked him up and placed him on the counter in front of him.

"What's the matter?"

"My stomach hurts," he mumbled as Penelope came over and felt his forehead.

"He doesn't have a fever," she looked at Derek.

"It's probably just a stomach ache from all those sweets that my mom kept giving you yesterday," Derek told Ryan.

"You're probably right about that," Penelope smiled as Derek set him down on the floor again.

"Why don't you go lay down on the couch and I'll find something to help settle your stomach," Ryan slowly shuffled out of the room and Derek opened his refrigerator to try to find something for him. "Oh great. I don't even have anything for him. Not even a sports drink."

"Calm down," Penelope smiled as he became frantic. "Just give him some water and those crackers for now, and I'll run out and get him something."

"You don't have to-"

"I want to," she grabbed her purse. "You stay here and let him binge watch whatever he wants on TV."

"Got it," he went into the living room and saw Ryan laying across the couch. "Hey buddy, Penelope's gone up to the store to get something for your stomach."

"Ok," he said softly.

"Is it ok if she hangs out with us today?"

"Yeah, she seems nice."

"Yes, she is." Derek sat beside him. "What do you want to watch?"

"Don't know," Ryan mumbled as Derek turned on the TV and started flipping through the channels.

"Just tell me if you see anything that you like."

An hour later, the door opened and Penelope came into them with a couple bags in her arms. She walked into the living room and saw Ryan curled up against Derek as an episode of Ninja Turtles played on TV.

"How are we doing?" she sat beside them.

"He says he's hungry, but I don't think he can handle anything just yet." Derek told her.

"Well I have clear broth that I can heat up. Does that sound good, Ryan?" she looked at him.

"Yeah," he said softly.

"In the meantime, you can drink this to try to settle your stomach." Penelope opened a bottle of ginger ale and he took it from her.

"What else did you get?" Derek saw the smaller bag that she had with her.

"Oh yes," she picked it up and placed it in front of Ryan. "This is all for you."

"What is it?" Ryan slowly sat up and opened the bag.

"I remember when I was younger and I was sick, my parents would often bring me back something from the store to make me feel better and to keep me entertained."

"You got me something?"

"Derek told me your favorite school subject was Art, so I thought…." Penelope watched as Ryan pulled out all the items.

"This is all for me?" Ryan saw the sketchbook, superhero coloring book, and the packages of markers, crayons and colored pencils.

"Of course it is,"

"Th-Thanks," Ryan mumbled.

"You enjoy those while I go heat up some broth,"

"Thank you, Baby Girl." Derek smiled at her as she took the other bag with her into the kitchen. "What's the matter kid? Don't you like them?"

"No, they're great. It's just-"

"What?" Derek looked down at him. "You can tell me."

"Is this what it's supposed to be like?"

"Is what supposed to be like?"

"Is this what it's supposed to be like with parents when you're sick? They actually care for you and get you things to make you feel better?"

"They're supposed to," Derek pulled him to him. "Didn't you have that before?"

"No," Ryan said softly. "I was always forced off to school. Not that I minded. I preferred to be there. It was safer."

Derek remained silent as Ryan opened up the coloring book and took out one of the coloring pencils. He just got a little snippet of what Ryan's life was like before the orphanage; and he didn't like what he heard. What kind of kid would rather spend their days at school as opposed to having a couple of sick days stuck at home?

"Here we go," Penelope brought in a tray that had a bowl of steaming liquid on it with some crackers spread out.

"Thank you," Ryan smiled as Penelope placed the tray over his lap.

"So how do you like your gifts? You can be honest if you didn't like them."

"I like them," Ryan said. "It's just-"

"What?"

"You can tell her kid," Derek assured him.

"I don't really like using markers," he told her. "They're too messy and they bleed through the paper; they ruin the picture."

"Actually, you're right," Penelope smiled.

"My Art teacher at school makes us use them, but I like using crayons or colored pencils. Colored pencils are the best though."

"I think so too," Penelope got settled beside him. "So tell me some things."

"What things?" Ryan asked as he started eating the soup.

"I want to know all about you," she smiled at him. "Favorite music, books, TV shows, movies…."

"Just give in kid," Derek smiled at him. "It's easier that way."

"I like Green Day," he told her. "And I like reading fantasy books. It helps me escape from reality…."

They spent the next several hours talking with Ryan as he told them all about his favorite things. Ryan had two bowls of broth and it seemed to settle his stomach. By late afternoon, he was feeling so much better that he said he wanted to go outside. So Derek clipped a leash to Clooney's collar and they all-Penelope included-walked down the street to the park.

Ryan and Clooney ran around with Ryan throwing a frisbee for him to catch. Derek and Penelope sat on a bench under some shade and watched them.

"Talk to me," Penelope told him. "What's been going on since we had that conversation at my apartment?"

"I want to do it," he looked at her.

"I knew it was only a matter of time," she smiled at him. "So what finally convinced you?"

"I like spending all this time with him, but I think last night sealed the deal."

"What happened last night?"

"I had just got him settled into the guest room for the night and was starting to get ready for bed. I realized that I wanted that every night. I wanted him to be nearby. I want him living with me permanently. I want to get him up for school in the mornings, I want to go to his school activities, and I definitely want to get him back to feeling healthy again when he's sick."

"It's so great to see this side of you Sugar," Penelope told him. "You two are great for each other."

"He told me that he's never been cared for when he was sick," Derek watched her shocked expression. "He said that he was forced off to school, but that he actually preferred school because it was safer."

"He definitely needs a positive environment, and I don't think it's that orphanage."

"I'm going to talk to Mark when I drop Ryan off. I know that it's going to be a slow process."

"But it'll be worth it."

"And first thing tomorrow, I'll talk to Hotch about it."

"I don't think it will make a difference to him."

* * *

Later that night, Derek pulled his car up to the curb outside the orphanage. He got out and opened the back door for Ryan to climb out. Derek grabbed his bag of things and led him inside. Ryan walked slowly behind him as they walked to Mark's office.

"Hey Man," Derek spotted him working behind the computer at his desk.

"Hey," Mark smiled at the pair. "How was your night, Ryan?"

"Fun," he said softly. "When can I go back again?"

"When Derek has more free time."

"Soon," Derek smiled at him.

"Why don't you start getting ready for bed," Mark looked at Ryan. "Put your dirty clothes in the laundry before going to your room."

"Ok,"

"I'll see you soon, Ryan." Derek told him.

"When?" he asked him.

"When I don't have a case."

"You'll see him soon enough," Mark assured him.

"Ok," Ryan left the room and Mark smiled at Derek.

"So I brought him back safe and sound; for the most part." Derek told him.

"For the most part?" Mark questioned.

"Well my mom kept enticing him with sweets last night, none of which he refused. So when he woke up this morning, he had quite a stomach ache."

"We've seen this before. Most of the kids aren't used to having so much food. Their bodies aren't used to it. And they think they won't get the chance to have that much again, so they eat more than what their bodies can handle at one time."

"Well Penelope came over today and helped me. She made him up some broth and made sure he got ginger ale. He was fine by this afternoon."

"I'll still check on him tomorrow before school,"

"So I want to ask you," Derek started. "What do I have to do to start the process of fostering Ryan?"

Mark smiled at him as he opened his desk and pulled out a thick booklet with forms for him to fill out. He knew this day would come sooner rather than later.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. In the next couple of chapters, Ryan will be meeting the rest of the team. PLZ R&R!


	5. Chapter 5: A Little Ryan And Derek Time

**AN:** Another update for all of you guys. Hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 5: A Little Ryan And Derek Time**

As the days and weeks went on, Derek spent a lot more time with Ryan. He had several more overnights with Ryan and often took him to and from soccer practice and his games. Mark gave him all the necessary information to take the steps to bringing Ryan home with him more frequently.

As more visits were had with Ryan, the more things that showed up for Ryan at Derek's house. Penelope and his mom were constantly getting clothes, books, and toys for him. Everything stayed at Derek's house though; Ryan didn't want anything to come up missing at the orphanage.

Derek had already talked with Hotch at length about what he had planned on doing. Hotch supported him fully and told him that he was there for legal counsel if need be. The only ones that didn't know about Ryan was still Emily, Reid and JJ. They were all getting more and more curious as Derek disappeared for longer amounts of time.

* * *

Emily and Reid busied themselves at their desks as they watched Derek on his phone again. His face lit up as he listened to the person on the other end.

"I would love that. No, that's no problem." He saw Emily looking at him and turned away from her. "No, I'll just run out and get a few things. All right. I'll see you in a little while."

"Is something wrong?" Emily asked him as he hung up his phone.

"Nope, just have a couple errands to run." He grabbed his things and ran out of the bull pen.

"Odd," Emily looked at Reid and he nodded as JJ rushed into them.

"I saw Morgan pulling Garcia into an elevator," she told them. "I heard him tell her that he needed her help with something."

"Let's go," the three of them went to Morgan's desk and started opening drawers.

* * *

Penelope looked up from her latest search as the door to her office burst open and Derek stood in the doorway. He was out of breath and he looked nervous about something.

"Handsome?" she questioned. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I need your help with something. It involves Ryan."

"Count me in," she shut down her computers and gathered her things as he pulled her out of the room and down the hall.

She briefly waved to JJ as they reached the elevators and Derek ushered them in and pressed the button for the lobby.

"Ok, what is going on?" she asked him as the door closed.

"Mark said that I get Ryan for another overnight tonight." He told her.

"And?" she looked at him. "You've had him for plenty of overnights."

"This will be my first ever on a school night," he told her as they walked to the parking garage. "Which means that I need to get him to school in the morning."

"You'll be fine," she assured him as they pulled out of the garage. "Don't worry so much, Hot Stuff."

Penelope followed behind Derek as they walked into a nearby store and started scanning the aisles as he told her what else Mark had told him on their phone conversation. Not only would he be making sure he got Ryan to school in time in the morning, but he would also be taking him to his soccer game later that afternoon, and be responsible for getting him supper, helping him with his homework and making sure he got a decent night's sleep. He would also be picking him up from the orphanage after he got off the bus that afternoon.

"Your first overnight on a school night," Penelope smiled at him. "That's a big step."

"I know," Morgan mumbled. "It's also Ryan's turn to provide drinks and snacks for his teammates after their game today. What should I get?"

"You can't go wrong with goldfish or animal crackers," Penelope placed the boxes of snack bags in their shopping cart.

"Ok, what about the drinks?"

"Capri Sun," Penelope placed two boxes in the cart. "Kids' favorite."

"How would I survive without you, Baby Girl?"

"You wouldn't," she smiled at him. "Now what does he like to eat?"

"Mark said his favorite meal is macaroni and cheese with hot dogs," he told her.

"What about breakfast?"

"Captain Crunch is his favorite cereal," he told her. "But he also likes Pop-Tarts."

"Do you know what kind?" he shook his head. "Let's go with Brown Sugar Cinnamon. I think it's a universal favorite."

"Thank you for helping me with this,"

"Like I had a choice when you forced me from my office," she smiled at him. "I don't mind. I love Ryan. How are those classes of yours going?"

"Just a few more to go," he told her. "Then when the home study is over, I will receive my certification to adopt."

When Mark gave Derek all the information he would need to start the process, he got him in contact with the agency that worked within the orphanage. The representative for the agency told him about the parenting classes and the adoption preparedness classes. He immediately enrolled in them and started attending them as soon as he could.

"Have you informed Ryan about any of this?"

"Not yet. I don't want to get his hopes up just in case something happens."

"What about your mom? Have you told her?"

"I plan on doing that today. I'm going to invite her to the game if Ryan says it's all right."

"I'm happy for you Handsome," she smiled at him. "Not many people would do what you're doing. They would just volunteer and then put those kids out of their mind once they left. Not you."

"I understand them is all," he smiled as they reached the check-out counter.

"Well I have to get back to work," Penelope told him once they reached outside.

"I'll get you back," Derek started up the car and a few minutes later he pulled up in front of their work building.

"Good luck," she told him as she climbed out of the car. "Make sure you call me and tell me whether his team wins or not. I don't think I'll be able to make it."

"Count on it," Derek smiled at her as she walked back into the building and he pulled away.

* * *

JJ, Emily and Reid were still frantically searching Derek's desk.

"I know he's hiding something important," JJ told them. "He's had several private meetings with Hotch. I've heard Hotch tell him more than once that he would help him out any way that he could."

"His desk calendar has several dates circled," Reid told them. "But today's date has a star on it."

"Here's a drawing of Morgan," Emily pulled it out of the middle drawer. "Wow, a very detailed drawing. Whoever drew this is very talented."

"What's that writing at the bottom?" JJ looked at it. "To Derek, From Ryan."

"So who's Ryan?" Reid asked as he bumped the mouse connected to Derek's desk computer and it revealed a search that he had been doing.

"Why would Morgan be researching public schools in the area?" JJ asked.

"Hold on Bella," they heard behind them and turned to see Dave walking towards them with his phone to his ear. "Looks like there's three super sneaks going through his desk right now. Tell him that I will try to make it if I finish all my paperwork in time. Love you too."

Dave hung up the phone and looked at the three guilty parties. They all averted eye contact with him as they tried to put Derek's desk back in order.

"Do you mind telling me why you're going through my step-son's desk?"

* * *

Penelope took the elevator back up to her floor after helping Derek out. She stepped off the elevator and saw Dave standing in the bull pen with JJ, Emily and Reid. They seemed to be having some kind of staring contest.

"What's going on?" she approached them.

"I just caught these three going through Derek's desk," Dave told her.

"What?"

"We know that he's keeping something from us," Emily spoke up.

"Not all of us," Reid told them. "I think these two are in on it."

"And what if we are?" Penelope looked at them.

"I think I'm going to call Fran back," Dave said. "Have her tell Derek that I think it's about time he told everyone."

"Told us what?" JJ asked

"Just one moment," Dave walked away from them. "Bella, I think you better tell your son that it's time."

* * *

Derek was sitting on the steps of the orphanage with Mark as the bus pulled up in front. They both stood up and watched as all the kids filed off the bus. Ryan was one of the last ones off and dragged his feet until he recognized the car parked in front of where the bus was. He looked around and smiled as he spotted Derek waiting by the front doors of the orphanage.

"Derek!" he ran up to him.

"How was school?" Derek smiled down at him.

"Boring, like always." He told him. "What are you doing here?"

"I get you for another overnight,"

"But it's Wednesday, a school night."

"So?"

"I never spend the night on a school night. It's always on the weekend."

"I made the decision Ryan," Mark told him. "Derek is going to take you to your game, make sure you do your homework, and get you to school in the morning."

"Cool," Ryan smiled.

"Are you ready to go?" Derek asked him.

"My stuff-"

"Your overnight bag and your soccer bag is already in Derek's car," Mark told him.

"Then I'm all ready," Ryan ran to Derek's car and hopped into the back.

"Don't let him tell you that he doesn't have homework," Mark looked at Derek as they went to catch up with him. "There should be a student assignment book in his book bag. Just make sure he completes everything before school tomorrow."

"Got it," Derek climbed into his car and pulled away from the orphanage. "So we have a couple hours before we have to be at the field for your game. How about we have a snack while I help you with your homework?"

"Ok," Ryan smiled as they pulled up to Derek's house. "Do you think your mom and step-dad would want to come to my game? And Penelope?"

"Dave and Penelope are still at work," Derek told him as they walked into the house. "But I'm sure my mom would love to. I'll call her right now."

"Clooney!" Ryan ran to meet the pooch as he jumped off the couch to greet them.

"Go ahead and let him out into the back yard while I get our snack."

"Ok," Ryan took him to the back door and slid it open so he and Clooney could run around the yard.

Derek listened to the barks and laughter as he got the snack ready and pulled out his phone.

"Hey Ma," he spoke into the phone.

"Derek," his mom greeted him back. "How is everything?"

"I just picked up Ryan for another overnight," he told her.

"On a school night? That's huge."

"I know," he set a plate out on the counter. "I'm actually calling because Ryan has a game in a little while and he wanted me to invite you."

"Really?"

"Yes really. He wanted to invite Dave and Penelope too, but I know they're stuck at work."

"I'll call Dave. Maybe he can get out early."

"I'll see you at the park in a little bit then?"

"Absolutely,"

"I got to go. I need to help Ryan with his homework before the game."

"Listen to you talking like a parent,"

"I'll see you later Ma," Derek hung up his phone as Ryan ran in the back door after Clooney. "Back already?"

"I think he's thirsty," Ryan told him.

"You're probably right," Derek went to go fill his water dish. "You get set up to do your homework. I made us up a snack."

"You made Ants On A Log?" Ryan asked as he spotted the plate on the counter.

"Penelope suggested it to me earlier. I made some with peanut butter and some with cream cheese."

"Mark makes these sometimes," Ryan grabbed one.

"Do you want milk, juice or water?"

"Milk," Ryan got out his homework and Derek found the assignment book and opened it up to that day's date.

"All right," Derek placed a cup of milk in front of Ryan. "It says here that you need to pick out a book to read for a report you'll be doing."

"Already have one," Ryan took a thick book out. "I picked it out today when my class went to the library. I've already read the first five chapters."

"Already?"

"It's a long bus ride,"

"And you have a spelling test tomorrow."

"I'm ready for it,"

"Even so, I'm going to help you study for it." Derek smiled as Ryan got out some notebook paper and Derek started quizzing him.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? The next few chapters will all involve Derek's first school night overnight. The team will be meeting Ryan in the next chapter though. I hope you liked this update. PLZ R&R!


	6. Chapter 6: Ryan Meets The Team

**AN:** Another update for all of you guys. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Ryan Meets The Team**

Derek and Ryan had just arrived at the park and Ryan was changing his sneakers for his soccer cleats. Derek was getting the snacks and drinks ready for Ryan and his teammates when he heard someone call his name. He turned and saw his mom coming towards them.

"You came!" Ryan ran to her.

"Of course I did," Fran smiled down at him. "I would never pass up an invitation to see you play."

"Ryan, let's go!" they heard the coach calling him. "You need time to warm up!"

"Go on kid," Derek told him and he ran over to his team as his mom helped him carry the drinks and snacks.

"So you get to have a little taste of what I went through when you were growing up." Fran told him as they found seats on the bleachers.

"What do you mean?" he looked at her.

"Being a sports parent," she told him. "It's not all it's cracked up to be."

"I'm enjoying it," he told her. "So I have something to tell you, but I don't want you to make a scene."

"What is it?"

"The reason I've been taking Ryan on day trips and having overnights with him is because-well, I've decided to start the process to try to adopt him."

"You're serious?" she smiled at him.

"Yes," he smiled back at her. "That's why I've had so many overnights. And I enrolled in parenting classes and an adoption preparedness class."

"This is so wonderful," Fran hugged her son tightly. "Do Dave and Penelope already know? That would explain why I've caught the three of you in a huddle whispering."

"They knew I was thinking about it. Penelope is the one I went to for advice."

"This is a good thing," Fran told him.

"Ryan doesn't know anything about this. I just don't want to get his hopes up in case something happens."

"I will try to contain myself," she smiled as a loud whistle blew letting them know that the game was starting. "So what are the rules to this game?"

Derek explained as much as he knew about the sport as they watched Ryan dart back and forth across the soccer field. Halfway through the game, Fran's cell phone started to ring and she answered it.

"Ok honey, I will let him know." She spoke into her phone. "Love you too."

"What was that about?" Derek looked at her as she hung up again.

"Apparently you have very nosy co-workers." She told him. "Dave caught JJ, Emily and Reid snooping in your desk to find out what you've been so secretive about recently."

"Seriously?"

"We think it's time that you told them,"

"You're right," Derek took out his phone and sent a quick text to Penelope before turning his attention back to the game.

"Mr. Morgan," one of the coaches approached him. "I was told that you were to receive these."

"What?" Derek took the plastic bag of team and individual photos of Ryan.

"Mark told me to give them to you. He said they're yours."

"All right," Derek opened the bag and skimmed through the pictures as he took out a button with Ryan's smiling face as he held a soccer ball. "Would you like a pin, soon-to-be Grandma?"

"Absolutely," she took it and fastened it to her jacket. "Penelope and Dave will want one of those pictures."

"They'll get one," he told her as they focused their attention back on the game.

* * *

Penelope walked back out to the bull pen as her phone went off alerting her of a new text message. She rejoined everyone as she opened it and saw that Hotch had joined the others.

"You're not getting anything out of me," Hotch stated. "If Morgan wants you to know-"

"Hold that thought, Boss Man." Penelope told him as she glanced at Dave. "I just got a text from Derek saying that we can tell them."

"You're sure?" Dave asked her.

"He plans on bringing him here in a little while to introduce him."

"Introduce who?" Emily asked.

"Pictures?" Dave looked at Penelope and she nodded. "Who's going first?"

"I will," she scanned through a hidden file on her phone.

"What's going on?" JJ asked.

"All right," Penelope showed them a picture of a young boy. "This is Ryan. Morgan has been mentoring him for the past several months."

"What's news about that?" Reid asked. "He's always volunteering at the orphanage."

"It's different this time," Dave told them. "He felt a connection to this boy. He's taken him on many outings and overnight trips."

"This is when I first met Ryan," Penelope showed them a picture that Derek didn't know she had snapped of the two of them on a basketball court. "That night after he dropped Ryan off, he showed up at my place asking for advice."

"Advice on what?" JJ asked.

"Whether or not it was a crazy idea to adopt Ryan."

"What?" Emily was shocked. "Morgan wants to adopt him?"

"They have a connection," Dave showed them the picture of Ryan and Derek the day that they came over to meet him and Fran. "They fell asleep watching The Mighty Ducks. Ryan likes the underdog movies."

"And this is the next morning when I dropped by Derek's," Penelope showed them the picture of them sound asleep with Clooney in Derek's bed. "Ryan woke up with a stomache ache that day after being enticed by sweets from Fran."

"She spoiled him," Dave nodded.

"It was later that day when we took a walk to the park that he made the decision to start the process of adopting him."

"So he's already started the process?" Reid asked.

"About a month ago," Hotch spoke up. "We've had several meetings about it. He wanted to know if Ryan would be covered on his policy."

"So that's why Morgan's researching schools in the area?" Emily asked.

"He wants to be prepared for when they tell him that he can take him permanently." Dave told them.

"So where are they now?" Reid asked.

"Ryan has a soccer game," Penelope told them. "And Derek has another overnight with him. So he gets to help him with his homework and get him up for school in the morning."

"That's why you guys rushed out of here earlier?" JJ asked

"He needed my help on what kind of food to get for him, and it was Ryan's guardians' turn to provide snacks and drinks for the team."

"So when will they be here?" Emily asked.

"After the game is over," Dave glanced at his watch.

"I'd say in about another hour they should be showing up here." Penelope added.

"Don't mention anything about the adoption in front of Ryan," Dave told them.

"Why not?" Reid asked.

"Derek doesn't want to get his hopes up in case something stops the process."

"So tell us about Ryan then," JJ told them. "What's he like?"

"First we don't know his actual last name because he won't tell anyone," Penelope told them. "He was found hiding in the luggage compartment of a bus after being there for two days. So we think he ran away from an unsafe environment."

"He spent two days in a small cramped space?" Emily gasped.

"He's obviously had to take care of himself for a long time," Dave spoke up. "He doesn't talk about his previous life. There's just been a few cryptic reveals."

"For instance?"

"When he had his stomach ache, he told Derek that he's never had anyone look after him when he was sick. He was always forced off to school, but he said that was safer for him." Penelope explained

"And don't be surprised if he doesn't talk much when you first meet him," Dave told them. "He's very apprehensive of new people."

"He doesn't talk much period," Penelope added. "Derek's friend Mark said that he was probably silenced in his old environment."

"Poor thing," JJ sighed. "I think Morgan will be good for him."

* * *

Derek packed up the rest of the leftover snacks and drinks that the team didn't want and put them on the back seat of his car. He walked around and saw his mom talking to Ryan who wasn't responding as he changed back into his sneakers. His mom looked at him with concern.

"What's going on buddy?" Derek asked him. "You're quieter than usual."

Ryan shrugged as he put his cleats and shin guards back into his soccer bag. Derek knelt down in front of him and waited until Ryan looked at him.

"You know you can tell me anything right?"

"Yeah," Ryan nodded.

"So what is?" Ryan shrugged again. "Is it because you're meeting my team in a little bit? Are you nervous?"

"What if they don't like me?" he asked softly.

"That's the same thing you asked me before you met my mom and Dave," Derek reminded him. "And what happened? They fell in love with you."

"Everyone is very nice," Fran spoke up. "You are an amazing kid. How could they not absolutely love you?"

"And I want to show you where I work," Derek told him.

"We're going to the BAU?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, is that ok?"

"Sure,"

"Let's head out then," Derek stood back up. "Buckle up."

"Ok," Derek shut the back door and looked at his mom as she smiled at him.

"You handled that well," she told him.

"I've had lots of practice," he told her. "You noticed he doesn't like new people."

"Let's hope this goes well," Fran went to her car and followed behind him as he pulled away from the park.

* * *

Dave walked down to the bull pen as he received a text message. He saw everyone waiting anxiously as they sat around near their desks.

"Ryan's team won and they are on their way here," Dave informed him. "Ryan is a little nervous so they had to try to calm him down. So don't crowd him."

"They're on their way up," Penelope came out to them. "I saw them on the security cameras."

They all looked up as the glass doors opened and Derek came in with Fran. They didn't see Ryan, but they could just make out someone hiding behind Derek as they clung to the back of his jacket.

"Hey guys," Derek smiled at them. "I hear a few of you decided to go snooping while I was gone."

"Sorry about that Morgan," Emily told him. "But you had us more than a little curious lately."

"It's all right," Derek pulled Ryan out in front of him. "Everyone, this is Ryan."

Everyone smiled down at him as he tried to hide against Derek's side. He was still in his soccer uniform and his hair was ruffled and his face was flushed.

"Ryan, these are my friends," Derek introduced them. "This is my boss Aaron Hotchner-we call him Hotch-and that's Jennifer Jareau-we call her JJ-and there's Emily Prentiss and Spencer Reid."

"Hi Ryan," JJ smiled at him.

"Hi," he said softly as he tried to hide again.

"Let me show you my office," Penelope sensed that Ryan was getting a little overwhelmed with everyone. "I was in the middle of a search. I'll show you what I do everyday."

Ryan took her outstretched hand and she led him away from the group. Derek watched them go into her office and turned back to the others.

"So you're adopting?" Emily looked at Derek.

"That's the plan," he smiled at them. "I just have a few more classes to complete and the home study, then I'll be certified."

"Who would've thought," JJ said. "Morgan The Family Man."

"He's a good kid, it just takes a while for him to warm up to people. He needs to feel them out, test out if they're going to disappoint him or not."

"Understandable," Reid started spouting off his statistics about kids from questionable backgrounds.

* * *

Ryan followed Penelope into her office and stared in awe at the row of computers mounted on the walls and set up on the desk.

"Whoa," he mumbled. "So you just sit in here all day?"

"I don't just sit," she smiled at him. "I do searches. Come here, I'll show you."

Ryan stood next to her and watched her hands fly across the keyboard. He watched in awe as she finished one of her searches and sent it off to one of the teams. She turned and smiled at the look on Ryan's face.

"I do background checks to determine where the unsubs may be hiding their victims," she told him.

"That is cool," he smiled at her. "Are there others like you that work here?"

"Yes there are,"

"But she is by far the best we have here," Derek came into them. "What do you think of my work?"

"It's cool,"

"Are you hungry?" Derek asked him.

"Starving,"

"I bet all that running around and scoring goals made you work up quite the appetite," Penelope smiled at him.

"I invited everyone else too," Derek told him. "Is that all right?"

"Ok," he said softly.

"They're nice," Penelope told him as she shut down her computers and followed them out. "You just need to give them a chance."

"JJ will be bringing her fiance and her son, and Hotch will also be bringing his son along," Derek told him. "They're a little younger than you, but I think you'll get along fine."

"How old are they?" Ryan asked.

"Hotch's son Jack is four, and JJ's son Henry is two."

"What's going on here?" the three of them were stopped by a firm voice.

"Chief Strauss," Derek acknowledged. "We just finished all our work and are headed home."

"And who is this?" she glanced down at Ryan who clung to Derek's side.

"This is Ryan. I've been mentoring him and decided to show him the BAU."

"It's nice to meet you Ryan," Chief Strauss' smile was tight as she glanced down at him again.

"We should go," Derek saw the distress on Ryan's face. "Come on buddy."

The three of them filed into the elevator and Derek picked up Ryan. They rode in silence as they tried to get Ryan to calm down.

"I don't like her," Ryan said softly.

"Strauss?" Derek looked at him and he nodded. "Not many people here do."

"Derek," Penelope looked at him.

"What? You know it's true." He glanced at her before looking back at Ryan. "Why don't you like Chief Strauss buddy?"

"I just don't," he stated. "Mark says I have a sense about people. That I can tell if a person is good or bad when I meet them."

"We could use you on the field," Derek smiled at him as they reached the parking garage. "Why don't you ride with us, Baby Girl."

"I have Esther, I'll just follow you." She told him.

"Ride with us Penelope," Ryan called from the backseat. "Please."

"Oh, I can never say no to that face," she sighed.

"I think that's why he does it," Derek smiled at her. "I'll drop you off after we're done eating."

"All right," she climbed into the front passenger seat and Derek pulled away.

* * *

By the time everyone else had gotten there, Derek, Penelope and Ryan were already getting their food up at the buffet. Penelope pointed to the corner of the restaurant where there were four tables pushed together to fit all of them. They all put their things down and went to the buffet line.

"What kind would you like?" Derek looked down at Ryan as he followed behind Derek with his own plate.

"There's a lot," Ryan eyed all the variety of pizzas laid out before him. "Do they have bacon and pineapple?"

"I don't see any with those toppings."

"We have a Hawaiian pizza down at the end," they looked up and saw a girl refilling the line. "It has bacon, pineapple, ham and extra cheese."

"Do you want to try that?" Derek looked at Ryan and he nodded.

"You should just do bacon and pineapple," Ryan looked at the girl. "With ranch dressing as the sauce."

"I will run that by the bosses," she smiled at him.

"Come on kid," Derek stopped by the salad bar to get them small bowls filled up and took him back to the table.

"More introductions," JJ smiled at Ryan as she sat near him. "This is my fiance Will, and our two-year-old Henry."

"Hello Ryan," Will smiled at him.

"Hi," Ryan said softly. "You talk funny. Sorry."

Everyone laughed as Ryan looked down at his plate and slowly started eating. Will was smiling as he looked at Ryan.

"You're not the first person to tell me that," Will told him.

"Yeah, I tell him that every time I see him." Emily added.

"Will is originally from New Orleans," JJ told Ryan. "We worked with him on one of our cases."

"Then she decided to bring him back home with her," Penelope joked.

"Not exactly how it happened." JJ smiled at her.

"One more introduction," Hotch joined them with a young boy. "This is my four-year-old son, Jack."

"Hi," Ryan said softly.

Everyone let Ryan eat his supper in silence as they saw him a little overwhelmed with the big crowd. The conversations rolled around the table as Ryan watched them all.

"I think we better get going," Derek glanced at his watch. "He's on a schedule and I need to be able to get him up for school in the morning."

"It was nice meeting you Ryan," JJ smiled as Derek gathered their things. "Maybe next time you spend the night at Derek's we can have Henry come over and play."

"Jack too," Hotch added.

"Sure," Ryan smiled at them.

"They're my ride," Penelope told them. "So I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Bye guys!" Emily called.

"I will see you soon," Fran hugged Ryan. "And I love your soccer picture."

"Bye," Ryan smiled at her as the three of them walked outside.

"He seems like a good kid," Will commented. "Just a little quiet. I've never seen someone his age be that quiet."

"He's already warming up to all of you," Dave told them.

"The three of them look like a family," JJ watched Derek's car pull away from the curb. "They just need to open their eyes."

"Ryan is helping me with a plan," Dave told them. "Even he could see it when he witnessed how they act around each other."

"How long do you think it will be until it becomes permanent?" Reid asked.

"It's obvious that Derek is good for Ryan's well-being." Emily added.

"It depends how well the home study goes," Fran told them. "But he has been working non-stop on his house to make sure that it's up to the standard guidelines."

"I think it'll be soon," Hotch told them.

"I sure hope so,"

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. PLZ R&R!


	7. Chapter 7: Breakthroughs

**AN:** Another update for all of you. Thanks you for all of the wonderful reviews. Especially from the one posting under guest. But I look forward to everyone's reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Breakthroughs**

Derek pulled up to his house and got Ryan inside. They had just dropped Penelope off at her apartment before coming home. Since it was so late, Derek said it was safer for her if he just dropped her off at home. He told her that he would pick her up in the morning on his way to take Ryan to school.

Derek flipped on the light as they walked inside and Clooney came out to greet them. Derek looked at Ryan as he started looking drowsy.

"I'm going to let him out," Derek told him. "Go on up and get ready for bed and I'll be up in a little bit."

"Ok," Ryan started up the stairs as Derek took Clooney to the backyard.

Derek started to clean up the kitchen from earlier and made sure that all of Ryan's completed homework was in his bookbag. He set it on one of the barstools at the counter so they would see it before they headed out the door in the morning.

Derek let Clooney back in and was filling his dishes when he heard his laptop beeping. He opened it up and hit a button as a request for a video chat popped up. He accepted it and smiled as he saw his sister's face smiling back at him.

"Hey bro,"

"Hey sis," he smiled at Sarah.

"Desiree is with me," he saw both of them crowd together in the computer screen.

"So what do I owe this late night chat?" he asked them.

"We hear that Ryan is spending the night again," Sarah smiled.

"On a school night no less," Desiree added.

"Yes, it's a big step." He told them.

"And mom dropped a bit of news to us."

"She told you-"

"About your plans to adopt Ryan."

"Keep it down," he told them. "Ryan doesn't know. I don't want to get his hopes up. Something could always happen."

"How could they not think that you would be a great dad to him?"

"Thanks," he smiled at the pair of them.

"Derek?" Ryan called down to him.

"I heard that, can we talk to him?" Desiree asked.

"If he wants to," Derek told her. "And only for five minutes. It's almost his bedtime."

Derek left the kitchen and went up to get Ryan. Ryan slowly followed Derek down the stairs and silently climbed onto the bar stool next to the one that Derek was situated in. He glanced at the screen and saw two girls that resembled Derek smiling back at him.

"Here we go," Derek looked into the computer. "Sarah, Desiree, this is Ryan. Ryan, these are my sisters."

"Hi Ryan," Sarah smiled at him.

"Hi," he said softly.

"Our brother talks about you all the time," Desiree told him. "It's good to finally know what you look like."

"Go on and talk to them," Derek stood up. "I'll give you a few minutes to talk."

"Wait," Ryan's eyes widened. "What do I say to them?"

"Relax kid," Derek assured him. "Tell them about your day, your game, coming to my work and meeting everyone."

"Ok," Derek walked away and heard his sisters ask Ryan question after question as he answered back in his quiet voice.

"Time's up," Derek came back in.

"Just a few more minutes," Desiree told him.

"He has school in the morning," Derek told her. "I need to get him to bed."

"Can we talk to you again?" Sarah looked at Ryan.

"I'll call you the next time I have him," Derek told them. "Bye, love you guys!"

"Bye!" Ryan waved as Derek ended the call and closed his laptop.

"Come on kid, time for bed." They started to walk upstairs. "Did you brush your teeth?"

"Yep," Ryan nodded.

"Good job," Derek smiled at him.

They walked into Ryan's room and he climbed onto the bed and Derek pulled the covers over him. Ryan grabbed the stuffed bear that Penelope had gotten for him; in the off-chance that he still slept with stuffed animals.

"All right, which one tonight?" Derek went to the bookcase that had been added to the room a few weeks ago when he started acquiring books from Penelope.

"I want to hear the one with the funny poems that Penelope got me last time,"

"You got it," Derek pulled 'Where The Sidewalk Ends' from the shelf and settled beside Ryan on the bed.

Derek found that Ryan settled better at night if he read to him just before he fell asleep. They both knew that he was too old to be read to, but it calmed him at night and it started to be a routine for them.

Derek read a few pages of the funny poems when he looked over and saw that Ryan had fallen asleep. He carefully got off the bed and put the book back on the shelf. He went back and adjusted the covers and turned out the light.

"Good night buddy," he whispered.

"Good night dad," Ryan mumbled and Derek stopped in his tracks as his heart swelled in his chest.

He silently walked out of the room and into his own bedroom. He sat down heavily on the bed and sighed. He realized in that moment that he loved that kid more than he could put into words or thoughts. Is this what it feels like to be a parent? He knew that Ryan wouldn't remember saying it in the morning since he was in a dream-induced state. But part of him hoped that he would start referring to him by that name regularly.

As he got ready to turn in for the night, he knew one thing. He needed Ryan to be with him on a permanent basis as soon as possible.

* * *

Derek's alarm blared on his night stand at seven am. He slowly rolled out of bed and went to use the bathroom real quick before walking out and going into Ryan's room. He turned on the light and started to shake him awake.

"Come on buddy," he shook him again. "It's time to get up."

"Why?" he slowly sat up.

"You need to get ready for school," he smiled at him.

"Oh," he rubbed his eyes as he slowly got off the bed.

"You get dressed, brush your teeth, and whatever else you need to do," Derek told him. "I'm going to let Clooney out and get your breakfast ready. What do you want, cereal or pop-tarts? Or I have toast."

"Do you have Captain Crunch?"

"I sure do. It'll be waiting for you." Derek started out of the room. "If you're not downstairs in fifteen minutes, I'm coming back up with a bucket of water."

"You wouldn't," Ryan eyed him.

"That's the same thing I told my mom when I was younger and she was trying to get me up for school." He told him. "Did she ever prove me wrong."

"I'm going," Ryan walked into the bathroom with his overnight bag.

Derek let Clooney out into the backyard and went to fill his food and water dishes. He turned on the kitchen light and got out the box of cereal and milk as he brewed himself a cup of coffee. He went to go let Clooney back inside, and by the time they made it into the kitchen Ryan was sitting at the counter pouring himself a bowl of cereal.

"Do I need to make a sack lunch to send with you?" Derek asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"No," Ryan shook his head. "All the kids at the orphanage get free lunches."

Derek nodded as he sat beside him at the counter. Ryan swallowed a big mouthful of cereal as he looked at him.

"You need to eat breakfast," Ryan told him.

"I don't usually eat at home," Derek told him. "I usually just grab something on the way to work."

"If I have to eat breakfast, you have to eat breakfast. You have to set a good example for me."

"All right," Derek went to get himself a bowl and poured him some cereal.

A little while later, Derek was rushing Ryan out the door. Ryan placed their bowls in the sink and went to get his shoes on while Derek quickly cleaned off the counters and grabbed Ryan's bookbag. Derek shut off all the lights and locked the door behind them and they loaded into the car.

Penelope was waiting for them in front of her building when they pulled up. She climbed into the front seat and smiled at them.

"How was last night?" she looked at Derek.

"Great," Derek smiled as he pulled away. "Ryan got to video chat with my sisters."

"How'd you like talking with Sarah and Desiree?" she looked back at Ryan.

"They talk a lot," he told her. "They didn't want to let me get off the computer. They're nice though."

"Hopefully you'll get to meet them in person soon," Derek told him as they pulled up to Ryan's school. "I'll be right back, Baby Girl. I have to go let the office know that I dropped him off so they can let Mark know."

"I'll be here." She smiled as she watched the two of them walk into the school.

Penelope only had to wait a few minutes before Derek came back out of the school. He silently climbed back into the car and pulled away from the curb as Penelope just looked at him.

"Are you ok?" she asked him.

"Yeah,"

"Is something wrong? You're being awfully quiet."

"Something happened last night," he told her as they pulled into the parking garage at work.

"Something bad?" she asked as they rode the elevator up.

"No, it's just-"

"Ok, go to my office," she told him. "I will meet you there with some more coffee and you can tell me what's going on."

They walked into the bullpen and Derek went right into Penelope's lair as she stopped to get two cups of coffee in the break room. She spotted Hotch and JJ in their offices already, but decided to just get back to Derek. She walked into her office and saw him sitting on the small couch with his head resting in his hands.

"All right, what's going on?" she sat beside him. "What happened after you dropped me off last night?"

"He called me dad last night," Derek looked over at her.

"What? That's great." She smiled at him.

"I'm not sure he even realized he said it."

"What do you mean?"

"He was half-asleep," Derek told her. "I was turning out the light in his room and told him good night. He told me, 'good night, dad'."

"This is a good thing," she assured him. "You know that."

"It's a great thing," he sighed. "It's just-"

"Oh!" Realization dawned on Penelope's face. "You think something is going to go wrong with the home study and they won't let you take Ryan."

"Anything could go wrong," he told her.

"Could you just for once focus on the positive?" she demanded harshly, making him look up at her in surprise. "Don't you give me that wounded puppy look. It's not going to work."

"What are you talking about and why are you jumping down my throat?"

"Could you please just focus on the best possible outcome? The one where you will get a call that will end in you picking up Ryan from that orphanage for the very last time and giving him his Forever Family."

"I know," he sighed. "I know I should be focusing on that. But things could go wrong."

"Things can always go wrong. You just need to realize what me and everyone else already know."

"And what's that?"

"That Ryan belongs with you. You guys are great for each other. And the fact that his eyes immediately light up when he sees you. Which is probably the only time that he smiles because he's stuck in an orphanage and goes to a school that does not let him reach his full potential."

"So what you're saying is that I'm overreacting?"

"Not at all," she smiled at him. "But sometimes you just need to take a few deep breaths and focus on the best possible end result. Everything will work out, you'll see. Everything happens for a reason."

* * *

Rossi was in his office talking to Fran on the phone as he watched Derek come from Penelope's office and go to his desk in the bullpen. He seemed a little detached from everyone else as Reid and Emily attempted to talk to him, but he turned to some files on his desk and started going through them.

"I think everything went all right Bella," Dave spoke into his desk phone. "He seems ok, maybe just a little off. You know how he is after he has to leave Ryan. Hold on. Someone's texting me."

He took his cell from his bag and saw a message from Garcia: 'Tell Fran to call or talk to her son. There was a breakthrough with Ryan last night but he's going to have a breakdown soon. I did what I could but I think he needs some Mama Morgan time.'.

"Bella, I think you should invite your son out to lunch." Rossi spoke into the phone. "The text was from Penelope. She said that there was a breakthrough with Ryan, but Derek needs his Mama. All right. I'll see you then."

Dave watched into the bullpen as Derek worked the most that he's ever seen him at one time. He picked up his desk phone once again and dialed a number. He did make a promise to Derek that he wouldn't try to pull any strings where Ryan was concerned, but there was nothing wrong with giving a little nudge was there?

* * *

Fran looked across the booth at the diner as her son stared intently at the menu in front of him. She arrived at the BAU twenty minutes ago and had to convince her overworked son to take a break and get some food with her. He finally relented when the rest of the team, led by Penelope of course, practically pushed him into the elevator.

Fran smiled at the waitress as she came up to them and Fran ordered for the both of them. Derek sat silently after the waitress left and sipped at his pop as his mom just looked at him.

"What?" he finally looked up at her.

"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" she asked him.

"Nothing is bothering me," he mumbled.

"You've barely said a word since I showed up at your work and had to drag you out. You haven't said anything since we got here. This is the quietest I've ever seen you now start talking!"

"All right," he sighed. "It's just…"

"It's just what?" Fran demanded.

"I'm afraid that Ryan will never be put with me permanently and what happened last night will make me feel horrible if that happens because it was such a major breakthrough; especially for Ryan to say that-"

"Slow down," Fran stopped him. "What is this about? What happened last night?"

"Ryan called me dad," Derek sighed deeply.

"Really?" she smiled.

"Yeah," he said softly. "I was getting him settled for bed. He fell asleep as I read to him from one of the books that Penelope got him. I was pulling the covers over him and told him good night, and he said good night dad."

"That's great,"

"It is great," Derek agreed. "I mean, my heart stopped just for a moment when he said it. He probably doesn't even remember it because he was half-asleep."

"Which will make the next time he says it so much greater," Fran told him.

"So you think there will be a next time?" he looked at her.

"Of course," she took his hand. "That boy adores you-he idolizes you. It's only a matter of time."

"But I'm still worried that it won't work out. That something will happen and this is the only way I'll have him in my life. On a temporary basis."

"What is it that Penelope is always telling us? Her mantra?"

"Everything happens for a reason," he sighed. "I know, she kept saying it to me this morning."

"Then focus on that," she told him as their food arrived. "Because all these trials and delays that you're experiencing is all part of the grand plan that the universe has for you."

"You sound like Garcia," Derek told her.

"She has some pretty good insights," she smiled. "Now that I settled you down, eat your lunch. You need to start eating more regularly."

"Now you sound like Ryan," he told her. "He actually made me sit down and eat breakfast with him this morning."

"Smart kid," she smiled at him.

Derek and his mom enjoyed the rest of their meal as they talked about other things besides Ryan and work. Fran smiled as her son finally relaxed. She hoped that Ryan would be made a permanent part of this family soon because both her son and Ryan needed each other.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I was mapping out this story and I realized that this story will be plenty longer than my other stories that I've posted on here. But I hope you guys will hang in there with me because I may not be able to post as often as I would like. But just know that I will not give up on this story. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. PLZ R&R!


	8. Chapter 8: Ryan Time

**AN:** Sorry it took me so long to post this update but I hope you like this update. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Ryan Time**

As the next several weeks went by, Derek spent more time with Ryan. Every free moment he had he spent it with Ryan. When he was out of town on a case for long periods of time, both Penelope and Fran took turns taking Ryan. Their defense when Derek asked them about it was that he needed to get used to them because they would be in charge of his care when he was gone for work.

Derek boarded the jet early one morning; they had wrapped up a really bad case and were all ready to head back home. He took out his phone and sent a text to Mark as Hotch sat across from him.

"How's Ryan?" he asked him.

"His last soccer game is tonight," he told him. "So I'm really glad that we wrapped the case."

"Any news on the adoption?"

"I finished the classes so I've been certified, but I haven't heard anything about the home study yet."

Everyone settled in for the flight as the jet took off. They had almost reached Quantico when Derek's phone went off. He took it out and saw that it was Mark calling him.

"Hey man," he answered. "We're about to land so I can take him to his game tonight. What? Really? Yeah, I can do that. Does Ryan know yet? Yeah thanks man."

"Good news?" Emily asked from across the aisle.

"Not the one I was hoping for, but good news nonetheless," Derek told them.

"So what is it?" Rossi asked. "Do you get Ryan tonight?"

"For the next several nights actually," Derek smiled. "I don't have to have him back until Sunday night."

"You get him for four days in a row?" JJ asked.

"What about his school?" Hotch asked.

"He doesn't have school tomorrow. Some kind of teacher work day."

"What do you plan on doing with him?" Reid asked.

"He has his last soccer game tonight," Derek told them. "As for the rest of the weekend, I don't know."

"We should all get together to do something," Emily told him.

"Then how about we all go to the zoo tomorrow morning?" Derek suggested. "I'm not sure if Ryan's ever been to one."

"They just finished the aquarium," JJ told him. "Henry loved it when we took him to it last time."

"Sounds like a plan," Derek smiled as the jet prepared to land.

Derek climbed into his car and pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hey Hot Stuff," he heard the familiar greeting. "Are you guys back?"

"We just landed," he smiled. "So I got a call from Mark. He said that I get Ryan for the next four days in a row."

"Really? What are your plans?"

"He has his soccer game tonight," he pulled out of the tarmac. "You're still making the snacks right?"

"Making them as we speak," she told him. "What else are you planning?"

"It'll just be me and him tonight, but I invited everyone to go to the zoo with us tomorrow. Are you in?"

"Absolutely," Derek could picture her whole face lighting up with excitement. "So what are you doing now, Handsome?"

"Heading home to get the place cleaned up a bit," he pulled into traffic. "Then I need to pick up Ryan from school in a few hours. I'm going to take him with me grocery shopping so he can pick out some of his favorite foods."

"I guess I'll see you later tonight then," Penelope told him.

"See you then, Baby Girl." Derek hung up his phone as he pulled up to his house.

* * *

Derek pulled up to Ryan's school and used the parent parking lot. He climbed out of his car and made his way into the school. He smiled in greeting at the secretary as he walked into the front office.

"Did Mark tell you that I was coming?" he asked her.

"Yes he did," she looked at the time. "There's only ten minutes left in class. I'll call him down here right now."

"Thank you," Derek smiled as she went to the intercom and called down to Ryan's classroom.

Derek was talking with the secretary when he heard the door open. He turned around and smiled when he saw Ryan coming in struggling to carry his book bag.

"Derek?" Ryan smiled at him.

"Hey buddy, are you ready to go?"

"Another overnight?"

"Actually we get several days," Derek told him. "I don't have to bring you back until Sunday night."

"Really?"

"Really," Derek smiled at him. "Are you ready to go? We need to stop at the store first. I need food in my house."

"You need to sign him out," the secretary told him and Derek went back to her.

Derek led Ryan outside and they climbed into his car and pulled away. Ryan smiled as he saw that Derek had already stopped by the orphanage to pick up his overnight bag and bag of soccer gear.

"Are we going to your house now then?" Ryan asked.

"I actually need to go to the store first," Derek told him. "We can pick out some of your favorite foods for when you spend the night again."

Derek pulled into the parking lot of the closest grocery store and he opened the back door for Ryan to climb out and they walked in together. Derek got a cart and Ryan walked close to it as they started down the aisles.

"Let's see," Derek went to a display section. "I definitely need milk…and bread. I should probably get some lunch meat so we can make sandwiches. Anything you like kid?"

"Turkey," Ryan said softly. "And swiss cheese."

"Good choices," he smiled at him. "Now drinks..."

"There's a lot," Ryan saw the long rows of selections.

"Kid, why don't you go pick some out." Derek pointed him a little ways down. "Go ahead and get whatever you want."

"Ok," he walked away and Derek went to the frozen food section not that far away.

Ryan slowly walked back to him with the juice and saw Derek grab some frozen pizzas. He turned to him and smiled.

"Put those in the cart," Derek told him. "Then we need to finish up so we can get home."

They walked down the snack aisle and grabbed a few things before heading to the checkout. They walked outside and got all the bags in the back seat. A few minutes later they pulled up to Derek's house and they climbed out.

"Here," Derek handed Ryan a key. "Go let yourself inside and let Clooney out into the backyard while I get all this."

"Ok." Ryan grabbed his things before walking to the door and unlocking it.

Derek brought all the shopping bags inside as Ryan came back from letting Clooney out and he started to help Derek put all the groceries away.

"Do you want to fill Clooney's food and water bowls?" Derek looked at him. "His food is under that far cabinet and he just gets one scoop."

"All right," Ryan went to fill the bowls as Derek went to let Clooney back in.

Clooney ran into the kitchen and immediately went to his food as Ryan finished filling the bowls. Derek finished putting the groceries away and got a snack out for them.

"Who's coming to my game?" Ryan asked as he took an apple slice.

"Penelope is coming for sure since she made the after-game snacks," Derek told him. "And my mom is as well. The rest of the team is trying to get through the paperwork so they can make it, but if they can't my mom will pick up Jack and Henry so they can come."

"Cool," Ryan smiled.

"Now how about we start on your homework?"

"I have all weekend,"

"I have some plans this weekend," Derek told him. "I don't want you to leave it until the last minute and not able to finish it in time."

"What kind of plans?"

"That is a surprise," Derek told him. "Now go get your book bag."

"Fine," Ryan's shoulders slumped as he went to get it where he had left it by the door and brought it over to the counter and climbed onto the barstool beside Derek.

* * *

Ryan's soccer game had just started and Derek was cheering him on loudly when he heard his name being called. He looked over and saw his mom and Penelope walking with each other as the rest of the team followed them.

"How much did we miss?" JJ asked as they all took up the rest of the available seats in the bleechers.

"About ten minutes," Derek told them. "You haven't missed anything. Nobody's scored yet."

"Where Ryan?" Jack asked.

"He's number seven," Derek told him. "He's the one kicking the ball right now."

"Yay Wyan!" Henry clapped with everyone else as he scored a goal.

Ryan heard his name being called and turned and smiled as he saw everyone waving and cheering him on. He waved back to them before running to catch up with the rest of his team.

"Awww, he looked so happy." Penelope smiled.

"He was asking if all of you would be coming," Derek told her. "So you all just made him very happy."

"Good," Fran commented.

When the game was almost over, Penelope went to get the cupcakes from her car. Fran went to give her a hand and helped her get them ready.

"Wow Garcia, those look amazing." Emily told her.

"Thank you, my lovely." She smiled at her.

She had made red velvet cupcakes and decorated the tops with black and white frosting to make them look like soccer balls.

"Do you have any extra?" Will asked.

"Wait until the team gets theirs," Penelope told him. "Then you guys can have your pick."

They all applauded when the game ended and the teams got their awards. Ryan ran up to Derek to show him once he had received his.

"Derek look!" Ryan proudly showed off the medal hanging around his neck.

"You did great kid." Derek smiled at him.

"Take a picture!" Penelope smacked him.

"Ow, woman!" he glared at her as he took his phone out. "Ok, smile Ryan."

Ryan gave a cheesy smile as everyone smiled at the interaction. Jack and Henry ran to Ryan so they could see Ryan's award up close.

"Come on boys," Penelope looked at her godsons. "You can help me hand out these cupcakes. Then you can get first pick of what's left."

Everyone watched as they handed out the cupcakes to not just Ryan's team, but the opposing team as well. Derek smiled as Henry and Jack came back with a cupcake each and he saw Ryan holding Penelope's hand as they walked back to the group.

"The rest is all yours," Penelope told them and the adults took their pick.

Derek and Ryan helped the coach load up all the equipment into his car and rejoined everyone. Ryan took off his shin guards and swapped his cleats for his tennis shoes.

"What are we doing tonight?" Ryan asked as Derek loaded up the car.

"How about we go back to my place and we'll order pizza and watch some movies?" Derek suggested.

"Can Penelope come?"

"She said that she was going to let us have some one-on-one time."

"But don't you have movie nights with her?"

"Well yes-"

"Can we invite her? Do you think she'll want to?"

"I think you should go ask her," Derek told him. "She told me that she can never say no to you."

"Ok," Ryan ran over to Penelope's car as she was talking with Emily and JJ.

"Hey superstar," Penelope smiled at him. "I figured you'd be gone by now."

"Derek said we were going to watch movies tonight. Do you want to come?"

"Are you sure you don't want to spend time with just Derek?"

"I want you to come." Ryan told her. "You guys always have movie nights."

"You should go Garcia," Emily told her. "You're the only one of us who doesn't have plans tonight."

"Besides, you are never going to be able to say no to that face," JJ added.

"Don't I know it," Penelope smiled at Ryan. "All right, I'll come. Tell Derek that I'll be there in about an hour. I just need to drop the rest of these cupcakes off at home and pick up a few things from the store."

"I'll tell Derek," Ryan ran off and the three of them smiled after him.

"He's attached to you just like he is Derek." JJ commented.

"Well I'm attached to him too," Penelope smiled at them.

"She said she'll come," Ryan ran back to Derek as he was talking to Dave. "She'll be there in about an hour."

"What's going on?" Dave asked them.

"Ryan wants us to have a movie night with Penelope." Derek told him.

"Sounds like fun," Dave winked at Ryan and he nodded. "Well I'll let you guys leave. I'm taking your mom out anyway."

"All right kid, let's go." Derek told him as they climbed into the car and pulled away from the park.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. I will try to have the next update out sooner but I will have it out as soon as I can. PLZ R&R!


	9. Chapter 9: Family Time

**AN:** Another update for all of you guys. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Family Time**

Penelope showed up at Derek's after stopping by the store so she could pick up some movie snacks for all of them. She walked in and saw Ryan coming downstairs wearing a pair of the pajamas that she had gotten him the last time he had an overnight. She spotted Derek dialing a number on his phone as he was in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.

"Penelope!" Ryan ran to her as she put her things down on the counter.

"Hey," she smiled at him. "You're ready for bed already?"

"Derek said it's a pajama party." He told her. "He said that we'll all probably end up falling asleep down here anyway."

"He's probably right, although I do feel overdressed right now."

"You're saying that you didn't bring your pajamas, Baby Girl?" Derek asked her as he hung up the phone.

"I may have brought them,"

"I already placed the pizza order," he told her. "So why don't you go change into them while I set up the DVD player?"

"I stopped by the movie store," she told them as she started upstairs. "The sports movie on top is for Ryan."

"Got it," Derek took the bag into the living room where Ryan was setting up some blankets for all of them.

"Cool, The Sandlot." Ryan took it out of the bag of movies.

"Wait for Penelope," Derek told him as he set the big bowl of popcorn, all the snacks and their drinks out on the coffee table.

By the time Penelope came down in her pajamas that were decorated with Hello Kitty, the pizza had arrived. Ryan was bringing in some paper plates and napkins as Derek set up the boxes on the coffee table alongside all their other snacks.

"Now this is a party," she smiled at them as she got comfortable on the couch.

"Are you sure we shouldn't be eating at the table?" Ryan looked at Derek.

"It's fine kid," he assured him.

"But what if we make a mess or spill something or-"

"Everything is washable," Derek told him. "Now go ahead and start your movie."

Ryan pressed play on the remote and the DVD player booted up and started playing the movie. Ryan got settled in beside Penelope as her and Derek cuddled up next to each other. Ryan tried to keep an eye on them during the night, but he was too involved in his movie. By the time that it was over, Ryan was fast asleep against Penelope.

"He's out," she looked at Derek. "Should we get him upstairs?"

"Nah," Derek got off the couch and made up a small area on the floor with a couple blankets and a pillow.

Derek came over and lifted him in his arms and gently lay him down on the floor and covered him up. Ryan stirred a little but remained fast asleep. Derek sat back down beside Penelope as they started another movie.

"So does Mark know anything about the Home Study?" she asked him.

"He said I should be getting a call any day now to schedule one," he told her. "It just seems like it's taking forever."

"But once the Home Study is over I think everything will fall right into place."

"I rely on your optimism, Baby Girl." He smiled at her.

"I'm optimistic for the both of us." She smiled back as they turned their attention back to the movie.

* * *

Ryan woke up as he heard a lot of loud noises. He slowly sat up and realized that he was sleeping on the floor of the living room. He looked as he heard a noise and saw Derek sitting up on the couch.

"Morning kid," Derek smiled at him. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good," he said softly. "Did we all sleep down here?"

"Apparently," Derek rubbed his stiff neck and glanced at the spot next to him, expecting to see Penelope still sleeping. "Where's-"

"I think she's the one making all that noise that woke us up," Ryan told him.

"I think you're right," they both stood up and made their way into the kitchen.

They both stopped in their tracks as they saw that the table had been set and there were plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and toast sitting at three different place settings. There were mugs of coffee sitting at two places and a cup of orange juice at the other.

"Baby Girl," Derek spoke up. "You didn't have to do all this."

"I think Ryan should see what a weekend breakfast morning looks like," she smiled at them. "Besides it'll give us energy for the big day ahead of us."

"What are we doing today?" Ryan looked at Penelope. "Derek won't tell me. He keeps saying that it's a surprise."

"I think we can tell him now," Penelope looked at Derek. "I already texted everyone. They're all going to meet us here in a little bit."

"All right," Derek smiled down at Ryan. "How would you like to go the zoo today? The rest of our team is coming as well. Along with my mom and Henry and Jack."

"I can't remember ever going to one," Ryan's eyes lit up.

"But you have to eat breakfast first," Derek told him. "As much as you're able."

"Then after breakfast is all cleaned up, we'll fill the coolers and load up everyone's cars with food and snacks and drinks when they all get here." Penelope added.

"Ok," Ryan rushed to his designated seat at the table as Penelope and Derek followed him.

"Not so fast," Derek told him as he started shoving forkfuls of scrambled egg in his mouth. "Slow down. The zoo won't be open for awhile yet."

Once they were all done eating, Ryan helped them clean off the table, fill the dishwasher, and put away all the left over ingredients that Penelope had needed to make their breakfast. Ryan went to go get ready after they were done cleaning up and came down as Derek was filling up three separate coolers with lunch meat, cheese slices, drinks and snacks.

"Where's Penelope?" Ryan asked.

"She ran to the store to get some ice," Derek told him. "Not to worry. She'll be right back. And everyone else should be on their way."

"Your mom's here with Dave," Ryan saw them pull in and ran for the door.

"Wait until they're getting out of the car!" Derek called and Ryan waited until Fran got to the door before opening it.

"Hey little one," Fran hugged him tightly. "I think Dave might need your help."

Ryan ran past her and out to the driveway as she went in to help her son. Ryan ran up to Dave as he was making room in his trunk.

"So what happened?" Dave asked him.

"I don't think anything happened," Ryan told him. "We all fell asleep watching movies, but I think they both slept on the couch."

"That's all right, we just need to move up our plan," Dave smiled at him.

"How?"

"I have an idea," he winked at him as they saw everyone else pull in.

"I come bearing lots of ice!" Garcia announced as she spotted Derek and Fran bringing all the coolers outside.

"Wyan!" Henry toddled over to him with Jack following behind him.

"We shouldn't have to take all our cars," Dave told them. "So some of us can double up."

"Penelope's riding with us right?" Ryan looked at her.

"Of course," she smiled at him.

"Reid, you can ride with us." JJ told him as everyone else figured out the arrangements.

"If everyone is up for it, I made plans for us for the rest of the weekend." Dave told them all. "I was thinking after we get done at the zoo, we can all head up to our cabin. We can have some cookouts and enjoy the solitude, while we spend time on the beach."

"Sounds like fun," Hotch told him. "Count us in."

Everyone agreed as Derek secured all the coolers and found places in everyone's vehicles for them. Ryan climbed into the back of Derek's car and secured his seatbelt as everyone climbed into their vehicles.

"What should we listen to on the way?" Derek asked as he started up the car.

"Green Day!" Ryan announced.

"Of course," Derek loaded the playlist and smiled at Penelope in the passenger seat as everyone pulled out of the driveway and they made their way to the nearby zoo.

* * *

Derek pulled his car into a parking spot beside Hotch's car and they all climbed out. Everyone unloaded all their cars and met in a huddle as they got everything organized.

"Little ones, front and center!" Fran announced. "I have sunscreen."

"Oh my god," JJ sighed. "How could we forget that? At least you remember everything for us, Fran."

"That's what grandmas are for," she told them as Ryan approached her. "Close your eyes sweetheart."

Ryan scrunched his eyes closed as Fran sprayed sunscreen on any open area of skin that she could see. Henry and Jack took their turns as Will got the wagon out and loaded the coolers into it as JJ got out the stroller for Henry.

"We'll drop all this off at the picnic area before getting started," Derek told them.

They all started the long journey from their spot in the parking lot to the gate. Ryan stayed back with Jack as the two of them walked alongside Henry's stroller. They got through the ticket counter and Derek and Will led them all to the picnic area where they unloaded the coolers and bags of snacks.

"Can we go on the safari ride?" Jack looked up at his dad. "Want to Ryan?"

"What's that?" Ryan asked.

"It's a train ride," Derek told him. "We'll see zebras and tigers and other animals."

"Can we go?"

"Sure, we just need to get tickets."

Penelope waited with the kids as everyone else got in line to get their tickets. Ryan looked around in awe as he took in his surroundings.

"What do you think so far?" she asked him.

"This is huge," he told her. "How much will we see today?"

"As much as we possibly can," she told him as everyone came back to them.

JJ got Henry out of his stroller as they all got in line for the safari ride. Both Jack and Henry wanted to be by Ryan so Derek and Penelope sat with him in one row, Henry sat on his dad's lap in the row in front him with JJ and Reid, and Jack sat with his dad and Emily in the row behind them. Fran and Dave took up a row by themselves behind everyone.

Derek smiled at Ryan's awestruck face as he saw all the animals. He lifted him onto his lap so he could see them better.

"What do you think kid?" Derek asked him as they passed by the giraffes.

"I've never seen these kinds of animals this close before."

"Well I hope to bring you here again." Derek told him. "Would that be ok?"

"Yeah," Ryan smiled at him as they got to the end of the ride.

They all filed off the train and decided to go see the nearby polar bear exhibit next. All the adults let the kids be the leaders as they got up close to the glass. After seeing the flamingos and the more exotic animals and having the kids pose for pictures on the different animal statues, they all walked back to the picnic area for some lunch.

"I wasn't sure what everyone liked," Derek told them as they all opened the coolers. "I got lunchables for the kids if they want them and I have lunch meat and cheese for sandwiches. There's also pop, water and juice to drink."

Ryan, Jack and Henry got situated on one side of the picnic table all in a row. They started eating their lunchables as the adults made up their own sandwiches. Penelope discreetly snapped a picture of the three boys eating their lunch beside each other.

"I just sent this to your phone," Penelope told Derek and he glanced at the photo.

"Thanks," he smiled at her.

"I think they'll be good friends." She smiled at them.

"Can I have a sandwich now?" Ryan asked

"You finished your lunchable?" Derek asked him and he nodded as he showed him the empty carton. "And you're still hungry after that big breakfast?"

"They did a lot of running around already today," Fran told him as he started making up Ryan's sandwich.

After they were all done eating, the big group made their way to the aquarium. Jack took Ryan and Henry over to show them his favorite exhibit; the sea turtles. Henry was more interested in the sea otters while Ryan was intrigued by the newest addition to the zoo; an albino alligator. Derek smiled at his reactions as he saw the rest of the group in different areas of the indoor aquarium.

"I think he's having fun," Penelope came up to him.

"It looks like it," he smiled at her.

They all spent twenty more minutes at the aquarium before trying to round the kids up. Dave suggested they stop at one more exhibit before heading home and everyone agreed since all the kids were starting to drag. Henry was back in his stroller as Jack was being carried by Hotch. Ryan however, was perched on Derek's back as he kept a firm hold on him as they reached the Orangutan exhibit.

"I say we head back to our cars," Dave told them all as they exited the building.

"We need to stop at one of the gift shops," Fran told them. "We can't leave here without getting these guys some kind of souvenir from their visit."

"I agree," Penelope smiled as Ryan's eyes lit up. "Would you like to pick something out?"

"I don't know," he mumbled.

"Let's just look around," Derek let him down as they walked into the nearest gift shop. "If you see anything you like just let me know."

The kids ran all around the store going from one display to the next. The workers didn't mind since they were the only ones in the store and the zoo was almost closed. Henry and Jack were grabbing all the stuffed animals they saw as their parents ran after them while Ryan stood in the corner reading out of some books about the animals at the zoo. Reid was standing with him as he talked animatedly about something that the others couldn't understand.

"I think they're talking statistics," Penelope looked at Derek. "You may have another boy genius on your hands."

"Nah," Derek looked at her. "I think Ryan is just reading out of the book he's holding. I don't think he has eidetic memory like Reid."

After ten minutes of the kids running around and all the adults profusely apologizing to the workers, they all took their choices to the checkout counter.

"Are you sure that's all you want?" Derek asked Ryan as he held a thick book about albino alligators in his hands.

"I don't need anything else,"

"I didn't ask if you needed anything. I asked if you wanted anything."

"I'm fine,"

"Well I'll get you this too," Derek picked up a big bag of mixed candy.

"Don't forget this," Garcia came up with a huge stuffed albino alligator. "I'll pay for this though."

"That thing is bigger than him, Baby Girl." Derek looked at her.

"So he can use it as a pillow." She smiled at him.

"Just give up right?" Ryan looked at Derek.

"Yep," Derek smiled at him as they put all their purchases on the counter.

Everyone walked out of the gate and made the long journey across the almost deserted parking lot towards their cars. They all loaded up their cars with all the leftover food and all the new purchases.

Everyone slowly climbed out of their vehicles after they had all made it back to Derek's place. They all helped get the coolers inside and made sure that they still had everything that they had arrived with.

"So everyone go home and pack up for the weekend," Dave told them all. "Fran and I will stop at the store and get provisions and we'll all meet at the cabin."

"Sounds good," Hotch told him as they all got into their vehicles and pulled out of Derek's driveway.

* * *

 **AN:** What do you think will happen while they're all up at the cabin? Will Derek get some good news while he's there? Or will any of Ryan's issues come out? My goal is to try to update at least once a week if not twice a week. Let me know what you all think of this latest chapter. PLZ R&R!


	10. Chapter 10: Issues

**AN:** So sorry that it took so long to post an update but I got a slight case of writer's block. Also I started another Criminal Minds story called Abduction. If you have time try to check it out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Issues**

Derek pulled up in front of Penelope's apartment building as he saw her coming outside with her bags. He leapt out of the car and ran over to help her as Ryan stayed in the car with Clooney.

"What a gentleman," Penelope smiled as he put her things in the trunk of his car.

"Only the best for you, Baby Girl." He told her as he closed his trunk and they both climbed into the car.

Derek pulled away from the curb as Penelope glanced in the backseat where Ryan was. He had his new book that he had gotten at the zoo open on his lap as he had his new stuffed alligator on his lap keeping the book propped up. Clooney was curled up beside him fast asleep.

"I see you're enjoying your new stuff," she smiled at him.

"Yeah," Ryan mumbled.

"He's in the zone," Derek told her. "You can't interrupt him when he's reading."

"Well it'll keep him occupied on the long trip up to the cabin."

"How long until we get there?" Ryan asked.

"A few hours," Derek told him. "My mom and Dave are most likely almost there. We'll probably get there around suppertime."

"So you just need to settle in for a long ride." Penelope smiled at him. "It's a good time to catch up on some sleep."

"I'm not tired," Ryan returned to his book.

"He's fighting sleep," Derek told her softly. "I know he just wants to crash, but he refuses to fall asleep."

"He's like most kids then," she told him as she fiddled with the radio. "I get to listen to my choice in music."

"Have at it," Derek smiled at her.

Derek's phone started to ring and Penelope picked it up to see a Facetime request.

"Your sisters are calling," she told him.

"Click it on," he told her. "They probably just want to talk to Ryan anyway."

"Damn right we do," Desiree's voice came out. "Hey Penelope."

"Hey Des," she smiled at her. "How's school going?"

"Midterms are the worst,"

"What are you guys up to?" Sarah came on.

"We were at the zoo all day," Derek told them. "Now we're all driving up to the cabin."

"Is Ryan with you?"

"Ryan, do you want to talk to Sarah and Des?"

"Ok," he took the phone from Penelope and saw Derek's sisters smiling back at him. "Hi."

"So you went to the zoo? What'd you see?"

"We all went on the safari ride, and we went to the aquarium. There was a white alligator-they call it the albino alligator."

"That it the most he's talked all day," Penelope looked at Derek.

"They bring out his inner chatterbox," he told her.

"And Penelope got me this," Ryan showed them his stuffed alligator. "It's bigger than me. She said I can use it as a pillow…"

Ryan's call with Sarah and Desiree lasted for almost an hour. A little while into the trip, Derek looked over and saw that Penelope had drifted off to sleep. He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Ryan's head bobbing as he tried to fight off his sleepiness.

"It's ok to sleep," Derek stated and he saw Ryan's head shoot upright.

"I'm not tired,"

"Ryan-"

"I'm fine,"

"What's really going on kid?" he saw Penelope open her eyes and listen in on their conversation. "Why don't you really want to fall asleep?"

"You'll be gone," Ryan said softly.

"What?"

"If I fall asleep now then when I wake up you'll be gone."

"Kid you're going to be with us all weekend," Derek told him. "Someone will be there when you wake up."

"Saying it doesn't make it true," Ryan mumbled.

"Then let me prove it," Derek told him. "I promise that the next time you wake up either me or Penelope or my mom or someone else will be there. So go ahead and fall asleep. We still have a bit of a drive."

It took a few minutes, but Ryan finally drifted off to sleep. He used the stuffed alligator as a pillow and Clooney was resting his head on his lap. Penelope sat up a little and looked over at Derek.

"That was interesting," she said softly.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm surprised that didn't happen sooner."

"We just need to prove to him that we're here to stay," she told him. "Which he is. You will be getting that call soon."

* * *

Derek looked at the time as he saw Penelope take out her phone as he heard it go off. She clicked it on and smiled at the text she just received from JJ.

"Everyone else is already there," she told him. "They're all getting settled in and Dave is starting to make supper."

"We're almost there," Derek told her as he slowed down and started up a long driveway.

He came to a stop beside everyone else's cars and he and Penelope slowly climbed out of the car. Derek opened the trunk and started unloading all of their bags. Penelope glanced in the back seat at Ryan still fast asleep.

"I hate to wake him," she said.

"Don't wake him," Derek told her. "I'll get him inside."

"I'll start taking all this stuff in," she grabbed a couple of their bags and started towards the porch.

Derek opened the back door and Clooney immediately clambored out in search of a nearby tree. He slowly unbuckled Ryan's seatbelt and carefully lifted him in his arms. He made his way to the porch and walked inside to see everyone standing around in the kitchen as Fran and Dave were preparing supper.

"Henry fell asleep on the way here too," Will spotted him.

"So did Jack," Hotch told him. "We put them on the couch while we unpacked."

"Got it," Derek took Ryan to the living room and saw Jack and Henry sound asleep on the wrap around couch.

He carefully lay Ryan down on the opposite end and pulled the blanket off the back to cover him up. He looked up as Penelope came back inside with more of their things.

"I can get the rest Baby Girl,"

"I can handle it," she told him.

"Not saying that you can't," he told her. "I just feel bad that you're doing it all."

"I don't mind, you've got Ryan."

"I'll help you get some of it in," JJ told them.

"Right behind you," Emily followed after them.

They spent the next few minutes bringing all their bags in and making a pile by the front door. Derek finally closed the trunk and locked up the car before following the girls back inside.

"So where are we staying?" Derek asked as he picked up several bags at once.

"Unfortunately since you guys were the last ones to arrive, there's only one room left." Dave told them. "There is one big bed so one of you can share with Ryan and a smaller bed for the other one to have for themselves."

"We'll manage," Penelope told them as she started upstairs.

"It's at the end of the hall, last door on the left."

"If Ryan wakes up, come get me." Derek told them. "There was a moment on the way up here."

"What kind of moment?" Fran stopped what she was doing and looked at him.

"He was refusing to go to sleep because he thought that I wouldn't be there when he woke up."

"We'll come get you," JJ assured him as he followed Penelope upstairs.

"Poor thing," Fran sighed as she went back to preparing the supper.

"You see it all the time with foster kids," Will said. "Some of my buddies from work are involved in the Big Brother Program. They say that they're very apprehensive about what they do or say."

"Nice move putting the three of them in the same room," Hotch looked at Dave.

"It's the only room available," he told them all.

"So I didn't see two other rooms that would be perfectly fine for them?"

"Ooh, are we getting them together this weekend?" Emily smiled. "It's way overdue for them to be getting together."

"Ryan and I have been working on this together," Dave told them. "The kid has some good ideas."

"That's what the movie night was about last night?" JJ asked.

"Ryan's idea," Dave said. "I don't think anything happened though because they all fell asleep."

"So what are your plans?" Reid asked.

"I vow that Derek and Penelope will be together before the weekend is through. No matter what we have to do to make it happen." Dave told them.

"I am so in," Emily stated and JJ nodded.

Suddenly from the direction of the sitting room, they heard a loud crash. They all rushed in to see Henry and Jack sitting up on the couch blearry-eyed while Ryan was nowhere to be found. They spotted pieces of a broken candy dish on the floor as they searched for Ryan. Jack pointed to an area and Fran found him in the corner squeezed between the TV stand and the wall as he sat with tears streaming down his face.

"I'll get Derek," Reid rushed up the stairs as Fran started to try to coax Ryan out.

* * *

Derek brought the last bag up and collapsed back on the bigger bed as he saw Penelope getting settled on the smaller bed.

"Ryan can always take that bed while you take this one," he told her. "I'll just sleep on the floor."

"You will absolutely do no such thing," she told him. "I'll take this one while you and Ryan share that one. No arguments."

"No arguments here," he told her as he got back up and started getting his and Ryan's things unpacked.

"Morgan," Reid rushed into them. "You need to get down here."

"What's wrong? Is it Ryan?"

"We think he accidentally broke Dave's crystal candy dish that was on the coffee table."

"He has dozens of those,"

"Well he's upset and has hidden himself in a corner. Your mom is trying to coax him out of there, but I don't think it's working."

Penelope followed after Reid as Derek bolted out of the room and rushed downstairs. Everyone else was in the kitchen with Jack and Henry as he saw his mom and Dave in the sitting room talking into a corner.

"Ryan?" Derek approached them and Fran and Dave silently got up and left the room as Derek sat in front of Ryan. "What's going on kid?"

"I did something bad," a soft voice said.

"What did you do?" Ryan remained silent except for the sound of his sniffling. "It couldn't have been that bad. Tell me what happened."

"I woke up-and I didn't know I was on the couch-I went to roll over-and fell on the coffee table-and the dish fell on the floor-and-and it broke."

"It's ok buddy," Derek managed to pull him out of the corner. "Dave has plenty of those dishes. Besides it was an accident right? You didn't mean to right?"

Ryan shook his head and hid his face in Derek's chest as he saw Dave come back into them. He knelt in front of them so that Ryan could see him and slowly took him from Derek and placed him on his own lap.

"I want you to know that I am not mad at you ok?" Ryan slowly nodded. "And even if I was, no one would ever hurt you ok?"

"Ok," Ryan said softly.

"Now I bet you're hungry. How about you help me and Fran finish supper?"

"Ok," Ryan slowly stood up.

"Thank you," Derek mouthed and Dave nodded.

"Is he ok?" Penelope came in as Derek stood back up.

"Yeah," he told her softly. "It just made me realize…he had a very unhealthy living environment. I mean I knew he probably did, but that just confirmed my suspicions."

"It'll be ok," she assured him. "Let's just try to enjoy the weekend."

"Right," he followed her to the back deck where everyone else was hanging out until supper was ready.

"How is he?" Hotch asked as they walked out.

"Better," Derek told them. "He's helping my mom and Dave finish up supper."

* * *

Ryan finished mixing up the Caesar salad as Dave brought all the plates and glasses out. He helped Ryan down off the stool by the counter and they started to set the table.

"So we all came to a mutual decision that Derek and Penelope will be together by the end of this trip," Dave looked down at him as he placed a glass by each plate.

"Really?" Ryan finally started to smile. "How will you do it?"

"I'm not sure yet,"

"I have a plan," Ryan started whispering in Dave's ear and he smiled. "That is good. So tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow," Ryan smiled as Fran went to call everyone in for supper.

They all got settled around the table with Henry and Jack immediately wanting to be by Ryan. Will sat on one side of Henry as the three boys chattered all throughout dinner. Derek smiled as Ryan slowly started to relax again. He really hoped that he would be getting some good news soon.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. Also, I'm looking for a Beta. PM me if you're interested. Anyway, PLZ R&R!


	11. Chapter 11: The Set-Up

**AN:** I got this update out faster than I said I would. Yay me! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 11: The Set-Up**

After everyone helped clean up after supper, Hotch went out to the fire pit and decided to start up a bonfire in the back yard. JJ and Emily found the packages of chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers and took them outside. Derek went outside to help Hotch with the bonfire as Will, Reid, Jack and Henry decided to look for sticks that they could use for roasting the marshmallows.

Penelope and Ryan came outside with blankets in their arms and saw some of them setting up lawn chairs while the others tried to find spots on the ground.

"Boys stay back from the fire," Hotch saw Jack and Henry sitting too close to the fire pit.

"We want to make S'mores," Jack said.

"Let the fire get a little bigger,"

Derek walked over to Ryan and saw that he was wearing his FBI hoodie as Penelope handed out blankets to everyone.

"I hope you don't mind that I gave that to him to wear," Penelope looked at him.

"It's fine Baby Girl," Derek smiled as Ryan went to sit with Jack and Henry. "Are you guys ready to makes some S'mores?"

"What are S'mores?" Ryan asked quietly as he looked at Derek.

"Have you ever been camping?" Derek asked him and he shook his head. "It's ok, I'll show you how to make them."

Derek went to get one of the bags of marshmallows as Hotch handed him one of the sticks that they had brought back. Derek put a marshmallow on the end of it and showed Ryan how to roast it.

"Just keep slowly turning it," he told him. "Until it starts turning brown."

"Won't it catch on fire?" Ryan asked.

"Not if you keep turning it."

"Boys, not so close." Dave warned as he saw Jack and Henry getting too close.

"You'll get burned if you get too close." Hotch told Jack.

"Sit with us you guys." Derek told them and they sat beside Ryan as Derek got the chocolate and graham crackers ready. "All right, looks like the marshmallow is ready kid. Let me help you."

Ryan held the stick as Derek got the marshmallow onto the graham crackers and chocolate. Derek held out the finished product to Ryan as the chocolate and marshmallow oozed out.

"Careful, it might still be hot." Derek told him. "Go on and try it."

Ryan slowly took a big bite and smiled brightly as he swallowed it.

"Good huh?" Derek smiled at him and he nodded.

"Can I have another one?"

"Sure kid," Derek prepared another marshmallow.

JJ and Emily sat with Penelope as they watched the exchange between Derek and Ryan. Hotch and Will were helping Jack and Henry as Ryan attempted to aid them.

"Ryan is so good with those two," JJ commented. "Do you think he has any younger siblings that he left behind?"

"I guess it's a possibility," Penelope commented. "But it could also be that he feels like he has to help."

"Yeah, the whole 'earning his keep' thing that Dave warned us about." Emily said.

"They look like a family," JJ smiled at Derek sitting with Ryan on his lap as Fran came over with another roasted marshmallow. "Seriously, how long does it take to schedule a Home Study?"

"Especially for someone who is very passionate about making it a home?"

"Dave said that it's all about the bueracratic red tape." Penelope told them. "But I do think that he's trying to move things along."

"Well of course he is," Emily smiled. "Not only does Derek want to be a dad to Ryan, but Fran and Dave want to be his grandparents."

"Just so they could spoil him," JJ smiled.

"They already do that,"

"I mean more than they already do. I overheard Fran making plans to get him a bike for Christmas before Dave warned her about making plans too maturely."

"That would be so great if we could get good news before Christmas," Penelope smiled. "He deserves to spend it outside of that orphanage."

"So Ryan seems very attached to you like he is Derek," Emily looked at Penelope.

"He's a good kid," she smiled.

"Any chance that the three of you could eventually be one big happy family?"

"As in…you guys, we've been over this," Penelope sighed. "Derek will never feel that way about me."

"But what if he did?" JJ spoke up. "Would that change anything?"

"No, because he'll never feel that way about me. I'm just his geeky tech-girl best friend."

"No more S'mores for this one," Derek came over with Ryan.

"One more," Ryan looked up at him.

"At this rate, you'll never fall asleep tonight."

"You can have some more tomorrow night," Penelope smiled at him.

JJ and Emily moved away as Ryan climbed under the blanket with Penelope and Derek got settled beside them. Dave discreetly took their picture as everyone exchanged glances. They all had the same expressions on their faces and they knew they were all thinking the same thing; come hell or high water, Derek and Penelope would be together by this time tomorrow night.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone decided to finally call it a night. Derek and Penelope took Ryan into their room as they all got ready for bed. The three of them took turns going in and coming out of the bathroom as they got their pajamas on and brushed their teeth.

"Ready," Ryan ran out and climbed onto the bed beside Derek. "Did you bring it?"

"Of course I did," Derek smiled as Penelope came out of the bathroom a few minutes later.

"Come join us Penelope," Ryan moved closer to Derek so she could sit with them.

"So you like the book I got you," she smiled as she joined them on the bed.

"He loves it," Derek told her. "He has me read from it everytime he's over."

"You read tonight," Ryan looked at her. "Please?"

"Of course," she smiled as she took the book from Derek and started reading a few pages of the silly poems.

* * *

Penelope stirred as she felt the sun break through the curtains. She tried to sit up, but couldn't when she realized that there was a weight on her preventing her from doing so. She glanced down and saw that she was still in Ryan and Derek's bed with Ryan curled up against her with his head resting on her chest. They must've all fallen asleep as they were reading to Ryan last night.

"Wake up!" the door burst open and Jack and Henry ran in and jumped on the bed.

"What-" Derek sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I think it's too early guys."

"Not for them," Fran appeared in the doorway and smiled at the three of them sharing a bed. "What happened in here last night?"

"I think we fell asleep reading to Ryan," Penelope told her as Ryan slowly sat up next to her. "Now why are we all up early?"

"These two must've heard Dave get up a little bit ago and start making breakfast."

"He's making chocolate chip pancakes," Jack announced. "Come on!"

Ryan scrambled off the bed and all three boys ran out of the room and it sounded like thunder as they ran downstairs. Penelope took a change of clothes into the bathroom with her and they heard the shower turn on a few seconds later. Derek started to slowly climbed out of bed as Fran remained in the doorway.

"What?" he looked at her.

"So what happened?" she asked him. "How'd you guys end up sharing a bed?"

"We fell asleep reading to Ryan," Derek pointed out the book that had fallen to the floor during the night. "He wanted Penelope to read to her."

"You know…." Fran moved into the room. "It's possible that Ryan sees what the rest of us see. That you and Penelope-"

"Ma, stop it." He sighed. "It's not like that."

"I know you feel something for her. And I'm talking something more than friendship like you claim."

"That may be true," Derek told her. "But nothing can come from it. She doesn't feel the same way."

"You may be surprised," she told him as she walked out of the room.

Once everyone had made it downstairs, they all sat around the table as platters of chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and toast were all passed around. Jack and Henry talked excitedly about what they wanted to do as Ryan just concentrated on his food.

"What do you want to do today kid?" Derek looked at him as they all helped clean up after they were all done eating.

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"Jack and Henry are going down to the lake," Penelope told him. "How about that? Do you want to go swimming or take one of the canoes out?"

"Maybe,"

"Uh, I don't have anything for him to swim in." Derek cut in.

"Your mother and I got him a pair of swim trunks when we stopped at the store before we came up here," Dave told them.

"Thanks," Derek led Ryan back upstairs so they could all get changed.

* * *

Ryan slowly followed behind Derek and Penelope onto the beach where everyone else was. Penelope stopped to set up an area for them beside Reid and Henry as Derek sprayed sunscreen on them both.

"All little ones in life jackets if they're going in the water!" Dave announced. "No exceptions!"

"Come on," Derek took Ryan to a nearby shed where all the things for the lake were being stored.

"Are those jet skis?" Ryan spotted them in the very back of the shed.

"Yes they are," Derek looked at him. "Have you ever been on one?"

"Once, I think."

"Do you want to try to ride one today?"

"Are we allowed?"

"Why don't you go ask Dave,"

"Ask me what?" Dave came into them. "We were wondering what was taking so long with the life jackets."

"Do you have any gas for the jet skis?" Derek asked him.

"Yeah, I think so." Dave looked at Derek. "You're going to ride one?"

"Ryan wants to," Derek defended. "I think I'll be ok."

"This I have to see," Dave smirked as they started to pull one of the jet skis out of the shed.

Everyone had just finished setting up their towels on the sand when they saw Dave helping Derek push one of the jet skis towards the water. Emily flopped down beside Garcia as she took out her phone.

"Something is going to happen, I can feel it." She looked at Penelope. "And I am getting it on video."

"So is everyone else apparently," Penelope saw everyone else taking out their phones as Derek set the jet ski upright in the water.

"Not funny," Derek told everyone still on the beach. "You know, we won't be going out far."

"I'm pretty sure you'll still end up in the water." Hotch called.

"Don't listen to them kid," Derek looked down at Ryan. "We'll be fine."

Fran made sure that Ryan had plenty of sunscreen on before helping him figure out how to get the life jacket on. Derek was waiting on the jet ski for him when he walked towards him. Dave helped Ryan get situated in front of Derek as he started it up.

"We'll go slow," Derek told him. "Just make sure to hang on tight."

"Ok," Ryan gripped the handle bars in front of him as Derek took them farther from shore.

"If it's too far out, just let me know."

"I'm ok," Ryan told him. "Can we go faster?"

"Only a little bit," Derek told him. "I don't want either of us to end up in the water."

"I have a life jacket on."

"Well I do not, and everyone is expecting us to fall in."

"Well that was disappointing," Emily said as Derek and Ryan came back to the shore. "I was hoping that ego of his would make him want to show off."

"He's being careful because Ryan is on it with him," Penelope told her.

"I guess you're right," Prentiss turned off the camera on her phone. "At least I got some good footage of him and Ryan together."

* * *

A couple hours later, Derek was taking Ryan inside to change out of his wet clothes. Penelope came into the room a few minutes later and smiled at Derek getting into some clean clothes after his shower.

"Looking good," she smiled at him.

"You tired of swimming too?" he smiled back at her.

"Too much sand got in….places." She told him.

"Ryan's almost done in there so-" they both turned as the door opened and Ryan slowly came out.

"Is lunch ready yet?" he asked them.

"I think Dave was starting to make sandwiches," Penelope told him.

"Go head down there and we'll meet you in the kitchen." Derek told him and he ran out of the room.

Ryan rushed downstairs and climbed up on one of the stools at the counter as Dave placed a plate in front of him.

"So?" Dave questioned.

"Derek just finished taking a shower, and Penelope is taking one right now."

"All right, so we have about fifteen mintes," Dave told him. "That's plenty of time to get everything set up."

Ryan ate his sandwich as Dave disappeared from the room and he listened for the water shutting off upstairs. When it finally did, Dave came back in to make sure everyone was still out on the beach before turning to Ryan.

"All right kid, you're on." Dave smiled at him and he slid off the stool and rushed up the stairs.

Derek and Penelope were starting to head back downstairs when Ryan rushed up to them.

"Dave asked me to get something, but he says you guys have to help me."

"What does he need?" Derek asked him.

"He needs us to go into the wine cellar and get a bottle of wine."

"What?"

"He wants to serve it at supper tonight, but he says that it needs to breathe for a few hours first."

"I'll go with you," Penelope told them. "You know nothing about wine."

"All right, let's go." Derek followed them downstairs and they passed Dave in the kitchen. "Any particular brand you want?"

"One of the ones against the far wall," he told them.

"I thought you were saving those for a special occasion," Penelope said.

"This is a special occasion," he told them. "All of us were able to get an entire weekend off to spend it with each other."

"Ok," Derek unlatched the door leading down into the cellar and they slowly made their way down the stairs. "Ryan you still with us?"

"He's still on the stairs," Penelope told him.

"It's too dark down there," they heard him say.

"Hold on," Derek pulled a string and the small lightbulb dimly lit up the room.

"So what should we take up there?" Derek scanned the far wall.

"Ryan?" Penelope didn't see him anywhere.

"Kid where are you at?" Derek asked.

"He probably got scared when he saw how dark the room still is."

"Right," Derek nodded as he grabbed a random bottle of wine and they headed back up the stairs. "What the-"

"What?" Penelope saw Derek pushing on the door, but it wasn't budging. "It's locked?"

"It can only be locked from the outside," Derek told her. "It's a latch."

"Dave!" Penelope pounded on the door. "This isn't funny!"

"It's not fun watching you both pine after each other, but not do anything about it either!" they heard Dave on the other side of the door.

"What-"

"We're not letting you out of there until you guys admit your feelings," Dave told them. "I don't plan on letting you starve. There's a couple plates of food for you guys in the corner. I'll check on you in a few hours."

Dave nodded his head at Ryan who was in the living room. He ran over and hit a switch on the sound system and loud music blasted out as they heard Derek and Penelope trying to yell over the music.

"And now we wait," Dave smiled down at Ryan.

"Now we wait," Ryan agreed.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? What do you think will happen next? How will Dave and Ryan help them get together? What would you like to see happen? Leave any suggestion that you might have and I may be able to write it into the story. So PLZ R&R!


	12. Chapter 12: The Hook-Up

**AN:** Another update for all of you guys. Thank you for all the positive feedback and the great ideas in the reviews. I hope you like how this turned out. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 12: The Hook-Up**

Everyone that was still out on the beach started to pack up everything and head back to the cabin by late afternoon. As they got closer to the cabin, they felt the vibrations from the loud music blasting throughout the rooms.

"What in the world?" Fran went to the sound system and pushed a button.

"Don't-" Dave came into them as they heard loud pounding and yelling. "Or you'll hear that."

"Is that Morgan and Garcia?" Will asked.

"Yes," Dave turned the music back on to drown out the yelling. "Ryan lured them into the wine cellar while I locked them in."

"This is your plan, isn't it?" Hotch looked at him.

"Part one," Dave led them all into the kitchen where Ryan was positioned in front of Dave's laptop.

"Is that-the wine cellar?" JJ asked as she saw an image of Derek and Penelope still pounding on a door.

"How?" Emily looked at Dave.

"It was all the kid," Dave told them. "I have cameras down there but I haven't had a need to use them until now. All Ryan needed was the wi-fi password and he was able to turn them on from my laptop."

"Have you been taking hacking lessons from Garcia?" Reid asked Ryan.

"No, I always liked computers," Ryan told them. "I'm part computer geek."

"So you're just going to leave them down there with no food or drinks?" Fran looked at her husband.

"Hey, I'm not a monster." He told her. "Before Ryan led them down there, I made sure to put some food down there."

"And they have plenty to drink," Emily smirked.

"Oh that's a good idea," Fran said sarcastically. "Because we all know how well those two can hold their wine."

"Do you want to see them together or not?" Dave looked at his wife. "This was a last resort after all those times we all tried to push them together with no luck."

"All right," Fran sighed as she glanced at the computer. "So this is part one. What is part two?"

"We'll need everyone's help with that," Dave started handing out pads of paper to everyone. "Write down any instances that you can remember where you sensed something between them. Something other than friendship. Once they realize that we're not letting them out and stop yelling, we'll start to slip these under the door."

"Great idea," JJ and Emily immediately started scribbling on their pads, filling at least three sheets of paper.

"What are they doing now kid?" Dave looked at Ryan who was crowded around the computer screen with Henry and Jack on either side of him.

"I can't get the audio to work, but I think they stopped yelling." He told him. "I'm trying to get another angle. Yeah, they're sitting on the blanket and eating the food you left for them."

"All right," Dave gathered the papers from everyone and put them in two separate envelopes. "Here we go."

* * *

Penelope sat on the bottom step leading down into the cellar as Derek finally stopped pounding on the door. He slowly sat down beside her as she looked over at him.

"I don't think they're going to let us out," she told him. "Not anytime soon anyway."

"I believe you're right," he sighed. "He said he left us some food down here. Are you hungry?"

"Starving," she smiled as he took her hand and pulled her up.

They walked to the back corner of the cellar and saw a blanket set up with a large picnic basket placed on top of it. They slowly sat down on the blanket as Derek started pulling items out of the basket.

"They really want to make this romantic," Derek pulled out two wine glasses.

"We have plenty to choose from," Penelope waved her hands around them at all the rows of wine surrounding them.

"Yeah," he smiled as he pulled out a couple plates with sandwiches on them and handed one to her.

* * *

Ryan was laying flat across the floor in front of the door to the wine cellar as he tried to peek under the door. Jack and Henry stood nearby, ready to be of assistance.

"I see someone walking towards the door!" Ryan told them. "Go get Dave."

Jack and Henry ran off, returning a few moments later with Dave.

"It's awfully quiet in there," Dave crouched down beside Ryan.

"They're planning their revenge," Ryan told him.

"Probably," Dave smirked.

"We know someone's out there!" they heard Derek's voice over the music. "We can hear you talking!"

Dave took the envelopes out of his pocket and slid them under the door.

"Open them!" Dave commanded. "There's one for each of you!"

"It's just a bunch of papers with dates written on them."

"Ask each other about what's in your envelope." Dave told them. "Have fun!"

* * *

Penelope opened the envelope that had her name on it and read the first piece of paper. It was in Reid's handwriting and she looked up from it and saw Derek scrunching his forehead up in confusion.

"So who's going first?" she asked him.

"I guess I will," Derek said. "We have nothing else to do anyway."

"Right, so what's yours say?"

"2004, The Black Queen, 'Eyebrows'. Why is eyebrows in parentheses? We both know that you called me that when we first met."

"Who wrote it?"

"It looks like JJ's handwriting,"

"Oh,"

"What?" Derek looked up at her.

"It was a few weeks after I moved to Quantico," she told him. "JJ invited me out for a girl's night. Back then, I couldn't hold my liquor well. We did a LOT of shots and I just started saying some things that I totally regretted."

"What did you say?"

"I don't remember it all. Something about licking something off those eyebrows-ok, I'm stopping now. You don't need to hear this."

"You seriously said that?" he grinned at her.

"I didn't know you back then like I do now." She looked down at her piece of paper. "Mine is Reid's handwriting. It says 2004 and 'Gomez'. Ask him what he said after you helped us find Brian Matloff, The Blueridge Strangler."

"Damn him and his iedetic memory," Derek mumbled.

"What?" Penelope looked at him. "What'd you say?"

"I said something along the lines of you having a nice ass and what I'd like to do to it-nevermind, next paper." Morgan looked down as he pulled another piece of paper from his envelope.

* * *

Everyone went about their business for the next several hours, occassionally checking on Derek and Penelope through the computer. They all sat down to supper as they watched Derek and Penlope continue to go through the envelopes.

"If only we could get the sound on this," Fran commented as she watched the image on the computer screen.

"They're almost to the last one," Dave told her. "That should be the clincher."

Everyone else set up a movie to watch and they all got settled on the couch. Ryan sat beside Dave as they shared a bowl of popcorn.

"It's not over yet kid, but I think we make a pretty good team." Dave told him.

"After this, I think we have another job." Ryan told him.

"Oh yeah? And who would that be?" Ryan pointed to the other end of the couch where Hotch, Emily and Jack were sitting.

"Jack says she comes over all the time," Ryan told him. "He wants his dad with Emily. He says she makes him happy and he wants him happy."

"If you think it's a tough job getting Derek and Penelope together, wait until we start on those two." Dave smiled at him.

A few hours later, the movie had ended and all three kids had drifted off to sleep. Dave and Fran started cleaning up the area as everyone else went to look at the computer again.

"Wait, we have contact!" Will's voice drifted out to them.

"Yes, finally!" JJ announced as Dave and Fran came out to them.

"What happened?" Fran asked.

"They are kissing," Emily told them. "Like aggressively kissing. Like if we don't get them out of there soon, they will start shedding some layers of clothing, kind of kissing."

"I guess whatever was on that last piece of paper did work," Fran looked at her husband. "What was on it?"

"I simply wrote, 'The Fisher King'." Dave told them.

"Oh man, did she beat herself up over that," JJ commented.

"Which you didn't help the situation either," Emily glared at Rossi.

"I had just come back. I didn't know you all that great yet, and I was a little short-tempered back then," he told them. "So I don't blame Derek for decking me in the break room."

"That's how you got the black eye? You never told us."

"It was a little because of that, and a little because he had just found out that I had started dating his mother."

"What?" Fran looked at him. "Neither of you told me that."

"I didn't feel the need to until now." He told her. "Anyway, I was heading towards her office after the case was wrapped up so that I could apologize, and I heard their voices. I peered in and saw that he was handing her tools as she tried to put her computers back together. The look that they both had on their faces-I knew it was only a matter of time."

* * *

Penelope stared in shock at Derek as he had the same shocked expression on his face as he stared back at her. They had just gotten to the very last slip of paper that simply said 'The Fisher King'. Immediately, a whole string of emotions started going through her. She still felt guilty when her system got hacked because of something careless that she had done.

Derek saw the emotions play out across her face as he thought back to that time. She wasn't herself during that time; whenever he called her for help, there was no witty banter from her. He knew that she had beat herself up over that whole incident. But she had finally started to loosen up when the case was closed and he helped her fix the computers.

"All this time?" she gasped. "We liked each other all this time?"

Apparently," he whispered. "We were both just too stubborn to admit it."

"But you-you don't go for girls like me."

"What's that supposed to mean? Girls like you?"

"I've seen you-in the bars-you always go for the stick-thin model types."

"I don't go for them because of what they look like on the outside," he revealed. "I go for the ones who have beauty on the inside. Who act crazy no matter who is looking at them. Who has confidence and doesn't care what others think of her."

"Derek-"

"Someone like you," Derek suddenly captured her lips with his own to stop her protests.

They clawed at each other's clothes as they shut off everything from the outside world. In that moment, it was just the two of them.

"I'm coming down!" they heard a familiar voice and pulled apart as Dave came into view. "Well, I see this was a very productive plan."

"So who's plan was this?" Derek asked.

"Well your mom and I started it," he told them. "But when Ryan started coming around and could tell that something was brewing between you two-well, the kid had some great ideas."

"Where is Ryan?" Derek got to his feet and helped Penelope up as well.

"Relax, he's fine. He fell asleep on the couch watching movies beside Jack and Henry." Dave explained. "I figured that I'd let you guys out now so that you can continue what you were doing upstairs."

"How do you know what we were doing?"

"Ryan tapped into the security cameras that are down here and we've been watching you the whole time."

"What?" Derek glanced at Penelope. "Did you-"

"I haven't shown him anything," Penelope told him.

"The kid did it on his own. He said he's part computer geek."

"Let's get the mini-matchmaker into bed," they all started up the stairs.

"Your mom and I will keep an eye on the little ones," Dave told them. "You two go and get better acquainted with each other. Just try to keep it down. Some of us will be trying to sleep."

"Come on, Baby Girl." Derek smiled at her as they practically ran up the stairs.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? Jenny Crum, it was a good idea that you messaged me with, but I completely suck at writing love scenes. Anyway, I hope everyone liked this. PLZ R&R!


	13. Chapter 13: The Morning After

**AN:** This story is getting a little harder to write. I know what I want to happen, but sometimes it's hard to put my ideas down how I want them to. But I will not be giving up on this story. Just please bare with me and please try to be patient with me. I do love all the great reviews that I keep getting for this story. They make my dad every time I open up my inbox and see them. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 13: The Morning After**

The next morning, everyone-minus Morgan and Garcia-were gathered in the kitchen as they ate the breakfast that Emily and JJ had helped Fran to prepare. They all decided to let the new happy couple sleep in since everyone heard their activities all night long.

Everyone cleared off the table and cleaned up the area as they all talked about what they would do for the rest of the day.

"I need to get dressed," Ryan tugged on Dave's sleeve. "All my things are in our room upstairs."

"I'll see if I can sneak in and get your things," he told him.

"And Derek said we would go for a walk on the trail today,"

"I'll see if they're awake yet," Dave started up the stairs and towards the room where Derek and Penelope were occupying themselves.

He slowly opened the door and peered in to find the king sized bed empty. He cautiously opened the door further and saw Derek perched on the smaller bed as he pulled on his sneakers.

"Hello," Derek looked at him. "I know it's your place, but don't you knock?"

"I wasn't sure what I'd be walking into," he told him. "I came up to get Ryan some clothes to change into."

"We've been up awhile. Penelope's just finishing in the bathroom."

"So dare I ask? How did last night go? Although I already know the answer to that since you guys weren't trying to be quiet last night."

"Sorry about that," Derek smiled sheepishly.

"It's all right. I take it that you're going to give it a go then?"

"We want to…."

"But?"

"She's worried about Strauss. That she'll make it hard for us."

"You do know that frat rules only pertain to agents dating other field agents. She's not a field agent so the rule doesn't apply to you two."

"Really?" the bathroom door opened and Penelope came out.

"I did my research when I decided that I was going to get you two together."

"So nothing can stand in our way?"

"Only you two and your stubbornness," Dave told him. "Just to let you know, we won't let you guys walk away from the happiness that you deserve."

"Thank you," Penelope smiled at him. "For making us realize-"

"Most of it was all Ryan's doing," Dave told them. "Which I need to get him some clean clothes to change into."

"His luggage is on top of the dresser," Derek pointed. "Was he ok last night?"

"He was fine," Dave assured him. "The kids fell asleep on the couch watching movies and they all slept through the night."

"Good,"

"But he said that you told him that you would take him on the walking trail today. He's really looking forward to it."

"I'd better get down there," Derek stood up. "Do you want to come with us, Baby Girl?"

"Absolutely," she smiled at him.

"Do you have any shoes to wear other than heels?"

"I have tennis shoes," she told him. "I'll meet you guys down there."

Derek and Dave slowly went downstairs and was met by Ryan waiting impatiently for his clothes. He grabbed them from Dave and went to go get changed in the downstairs bathroom.

"Well hello, Lover Boy." JJ greeted him. "Where's Garcia? Is she still sleeping because you wore her out last night?"

"More like the other way around," he told them. "But she's on her way down here. She's just trying to find some tennis shoes. We're going to take Ryan on the walking trail."

"I'm ready," Ryan ran into them.

"I invited Penelope to come along. Is that ok?" Derek looked at him.

"Yeah, I like Penelope."

"Ready," Penelope came down to them.

"Water for all of you," Fran came out with three bottled waters. "Stay hydrated."

"Got it," Derek told her as the three of them started out of the cabin and towards the woods.

After they had been walking for awhile, Derek took Ryan by the hand and sat with him on a nearby fallen tree trunk.

"All right you mini-matchmaker," Derek smiled at him. "How long were you planning that little spectacle?"

"Awhile," Ryan told him.

"How long?" Penelope asked as she sat beside them.

"Since I met Dave."

"Seriously?"

"Are you mad?" Ryan looked at them.

"Absolutely not," Derek told him.

"You made us realize what we've been feeling all these years, but were too afraid to admit out loud and to ourselves," Penelope told him.

"So you're happy then?" Ryan asked. "I did a good thing."

"You did a very good thing," Derek told him. "I plan on making her happy for a very long time."

"Back at you," Penelope smiled at him.

"Good," Ryan stated. "You two belong together. Everyone knows it."

"So we hear," they all stood up and started walking again. "How long is this trail?"

"I'm not sure," Derek told them. "I've never been on this trail before."

"What if we get lost?" Ryan asked.

"We'll call the others," Derek told them. "If we can get reception."

"We'll find our way," Penelope told them. "This looks like an easy trail."

A little while later, the three of them emerged from the woods. Ryan and Penelope were still laughing as Derek just rolled his eyes.

"It wasn't that funny," Derek looked at them.

"Yes it was," Ryan told him.

"You screamed like a little girl," Penelope finally got her laughing under control.

"I grew up in the inner city of Chicago," Derek told them. "There weren't many snakes around."

"It was just a garden snake," Penelope told him.

"You can knock it off anytime now." Derek told them as they got closer to the cabin and saw everyone out on the back deck.

"I see the grill!" Penelope clapped excitedly. "It's barbecue time!"

"Calm down," Derek smiled at her. "Rossi must be firing it up in celebration of our last night here."

"We have to leave?" Ryan asked softly as he stopped walking.

"Yeah," Derek looked down at him. "I have to take you back tonight."

"I don't want to go back to the orphanage," Ryan stated.

"I don't want to take you back," Derek picked him up. "But I have to."

"No,"

"We still have a few hours," Penelope offered.

"I want to stay with you," Ryan tightened his hold on Derek.

"I know buddy," Derek looked at Penelope at a loss.

* * *

"There they are," Dave spotted the trio emerging from the woods.

"It's about time," Emily commented.

"Something happened," Fran stated and they all turned back to look and saw that Derek seemed to be trying to calm down Ryan.

"Jack! Henry!" JJ called them over from playing in the yard. "We have a special job for you guys."

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"I think Ryan needs some cheering up. Do you think you can do that?"

"Ryan!" Jack ran to Derek. "Come play with us!"

"Go on kid," Derek put him down. "Go have some fun while our supper is still cooking."

"Ok," Ryan slowly went with Jack and Henry and they went to the swing set and slide that was set up.

"What happened?" Hotch asked.

"He found out we were leaving today," Derek told them. "He said he doesn't want to go back to the orphanage. God, this is killing me."

"It will be fine," Fran assured him. "He'll be with you permanently very soon."

"Other than that, how was the walk?" Will asked.

"Derek screamed like a little girl," Penelope started laughing again.

"Let it go," Derek sighed. "You know, you were raised a city girl. Are you telling me that you weren't just a little scared when that snake came out."

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes. "I grew up with four older brothers. Do you know how many times they woke me up with a snake or a lizard or bug or some other kind of creepy crawly thing? I had to grow a thick skin."

"How big was the snake?" JJ asked.

"It was a garden snake," Penelope told them as Derek's phone went off.

"I need to take this," Derek clicked it on and started into the cabin.

"Do you think?" Emily looked at the others. "Is that the news?"

"Could be," Dave watched Derek on his phone.

Derek spent almost fifteen minutes talking to whoever was on the other end of the phone. After a few minutes, Penelope went in to see what was happening, followed soon after by Hotch. Everyone was starting to set all the side dishes out on the picnic tables as the trio came back outside. They knew it had to be good news because the three of them were practically beaming.

"Well?" Dave looked up from the grill. "Who called?"

"That was Gloria, Ryan's social worker." Derek smiled. "My home study is scheduled for two weeks."

"That's great!" Fran hugged her son tightly.

"Keep it down!" Derek glanced to where the boys were still playing. "I'm not telling him anything until it's official."

"Got it," she smiled. "I will try to contain myself."

"This calls for some celebratory wine," Dave announced.

"If you think we're going down into that wine cellar again, you better think again Old Man." Derek stated and everyone started laughing.

"Why don't you go get it?" Penelope told Dave.

"I'm good," he shook his head, seeing the mischievous look on her face.

"I'll go get us some," Fran stated. "If you even think about locking your mother down there, I'll do the same thing to you that I did when you locked me in the basement when you were little."

"It was an accident!" Derek called after her.

"You locked her in the basement?" Penelope looked at him. "Explain please."

"I didn't know she was down there doing laundry. I just saw the door open so I shut it. But the door sticks so she got locked in."

"How long was she down there?" Emily asked.

"Four hours," Fran came back with a bottle of wine. "When the three of them started getting hungry."

Everyone continued to take turns congratulating Derek on his good news. Dave finished his grilling while Will went to get the boys so they could go get cleaned up. Everyone sat down at the picnic tables as they watched Ryan cling to Derek's side. Hopefully soon that would be a permanent sight to see.

* * *

A couple hours later, everyone started packing up all their things and loading up the cars. Ryan dragged behind everyone else as they all loaded up.

"I will see you soon, little one." Fran hugged Ryan tightly.

"Bye," Ryan said softly.

"Come on kid," Derek helped him into the back seat where Clooney was waiting for him.

They all waved goodbye as they all pulled away from the cabin. Fran and Dave stayed behind a little longer to make sure that everything was all cleaned up from the weekend. They were just starting to leave when Dave's cell phone went off.

"Penelope, please tell me that we don't have a case already." Dave started then stopped as he listened to the other end. "Slow down, what happened? Oh. Her phone just died. That's why you couldn't get through to her. I will tell her. Thank you for letting us know, Penelope."

"What?" Fran looked at him as he hung up. "What happened?"

"You need to call your son or we need to stop by his place when we get back to town." Dave told her. "Something happened when they dropped Ryan off."

"What?"

"Ryan clung to Derek and refused to let go. His friend Mark had to actually pry him out of Derek's arms."

"Poor kid,"

"They could hear his screams as they were pulling away."

"I will call him when we get back," she agreed. "Is Penelope staying with him?"

"He told her that he wanted to be alone, but she said she was packing an overnight bag so that she could stay with him."

"Good," Fran sighed. "These next two weeks had better come fast."

"My thoughts exactly," Dave nodded as they continued their journey in silence.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. PLZ R&R!


	14. Chapter 14: Ryan's Scare

**AN:** I know that it's been a couple weeks since I updated, but I was having some difficulty with this chapter. I hope you like how it turned out. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Ryan's Scare**

Derek slumped into his seat on the jet as everyone else filed on behind him. He looked at his phone to see if he had any messages or missed calls. After seeing that he didn't have any, he put his phone away and lay his head back. Dave sat down in the seat across from him and he glanced at him.

"Have you heard from my mom?" he asked him. "I tried calling both her and Penelope, but I got no answer."

"I'm sure everything is fine," Dave told him. "How's Ryan?"

"I haven't talked to him in a couple of days, but Penelope said she was picking him up when she got all her work done today."

"That's probably why you can't get ahold of them. They probably took him out shopping or something."

"Probably," Derek nodded. "And Ryan never complains."

"Exactly," Dave smiled. "At least we got you home in time for the home study."

"Thank goodness," Derek sighed. "But Hotch would've let me leave tonight no matter what."

Everyone settled in as the jet finally took off. When they landed a couple hours later, everyone filed off the jet and started towards their cars.

"Derek!" Dave called across the tarmac as he was loading his bags into his car.

"What's the matter?" Derek saw Dave hanging up his phone.

"Call Penelope. Now!"

"Why?"

"Just call her. She should answer you now."

"All right," Derek took out his phone and hit speed dial one. "Baby Girl-"

"Have you landed yet?" her frantic voice came out.

"Yeah, I'm loading up my car now. Why didn't you answer my calls earlier?"

"I wanted to, but I didn't want to freak you out when you had a long flight ahead of you."

"What's going on?"

"Ryan's in the hospital,"

"What? Why? What happened?"

"I'll explain everything when you get here. Mark and I will meet you in the waiting room of the Pediatric ICU."

"I am on my way," Derek hung up his phone and climbed into the passenger side of his car as Dave took his keys from him.

"I'll drive," Dave told him.

"What's going on?" Hotch asked.

"Ryan's in the ICU," Derek told them all. "I'm not sure what happened yet."

"We'll follow you," Hotch told him as the others climbed into one of the SUVs.

Dave pulled out of the parking lot and sped down the crowded streets towards the hospital. A trip that should've taken them twenty minutes, only took them five. Dave dropped Derek off at the entrance and went to park the car as Derek ran towards the elevators.

The doors opened on the pediatric floor and he searched frantically for the ICU. He got past the sliding doors and ran to Penelope and Mark.

"What happened?" he tried to catch his breath. "Where is he?"

"Your mom is sitting with him now," Penelope told him as they led him into a private room. "He had a seizure brought on by a very high fever, but he's fine now."

"Though he does have a case of pneumonia," Mark told him.

"Start from the beginning," Derek told them. "What happened?"

"I had to go out of town for a family emergency," Mark told him. "Which meant that-"

"Director Steele was in charge," Derek sighed.

"When I left, Ryan just had a cold. He should've been over it in a couple days; except that he was sent off to school when he shouldn't have been."

"According to Ryan's roommate, he was sent down to the school nurse." Penelope told him. "They called the director to pick him up, but he never did. And he refused to give Ryan any kind of medicine."

"I swear Derek, if I had known-"

"It's ok," Derek assured him.

"I made plans to pick him up and take him over to your mom's place," Penelope told him. "We were all going to make you and Dave a welcome home dinner. Director Steele said that I wasn't authorized to take him, but I called the board. One of them, Mrs. Clemens, escorted me to the office and demanded that I get to take Ryan. I was on my way to his room to get him when his roommate ran out. He told me that Ryan wasn't waking up. When I got there, he was burning up and unresponsive."

"I saw her carrying him in her arms when I was pulling up to the orphanage after I got back into town," Mark told him. "I knew she was too distraught to drive, so I got them in the back of my car and brought them here. The doctor said that if we hadn't gotten him here when we did-"

"But he's ok now right?" Derek looked at them.

"He hasn't had anymore seizures and they're giving him medication to get the pneumonia out of his system." Penelope told him. "His fever is already going down."

"Can I see him?"

"Yeah," Penelope stood up and led him out of the room. "He's really only allowed to have one person at a time in with him, but the doctor is giving us a little leeway and allowing no more than two."

"Morgan!" they looked down the hall and saw Dave with the rest of the team as they all walked towards him.

"I'm going in to see him now. Mark can tell you what's going on." Derek told them. "Dave I know I said that I wanted to do this the right way, but I need you to call every contact you have that can help me get Ryan out of that orphanage and into my home permanently."

"Already on it kid," Dave told him. "I've also reserved two tickets for Sarah and Desiree to fly out here. Not the best way for them to meet Ryan face to face for the first time, but-"

"Thank you," Derek told him as he and Penelope walked down the hallway.

Penelope stopped in front of a set of sliding doors. Derek peered in and saw his mom perched on the edge of a bed as a small figure lay on the bed totally motionless as a mask covered his face.

"Why is he on oxygen?" Derek asked.

"That's not oxygen," Penelope told him. "That's how they're giving him his medication since he's a little weak right now."

"So he's really going to be ok?"

"He's going to be fine. Just go in. He's been asking for you when he was coherent enough to form sentences."

The sliding doors opened and Derek slowly walked towards the bed. His mom looked back and smiled at him as he approached the bed.

"He's content for now," she told him. "He's basically been in and out of consciousness. The doctor said the best thing for him right now is rest."

"Everyone just got here," Penelope told her. "Dave's making some calls."

"I'll let you two have some time," Fran got off the bed. "You're supposed to page the nurse when his treatment is done."

"Can you have someone go by the office and get my laptop?" Penelope looked at her. "I think I'm going to do a little research on this Director Steele."

"No problem," Fran smiled at them. "He's going to be so glad to see you when he wakes up again."

"Thanks Ma," Derek told her as she left the room and he carefully sat on the edge of the bed.

Ryan was as pale as a ghost and his hair was damp seemingly from the sweat that he saw trickling down his face. He saw the steam emmitting from the mask covering his face as he took his limp hand in his.

"I'm here buddy," he told him. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

"He's going to be fine," Penelope stood next to him and embraced him.

"I know," he looked at her. "I just-don't like seeing him like this."

"Me neither," she told him as they continued to keep a watch over Ryan.

* * *

Fran met everyone in the waiting room as she saw her husband talking animatedly on the phone. He spotted her and hung up his phone.

"Sarah and Desiree just boarded the plane," he told her. "So they should be here in a couple hours."

"Good, Derek needs his sisters."

"Ryan's social worker is on the way down here," Dave told them all. "She was informed of the situation and wants to talk to everyone involved."

"I called the board," Mark told them. "They're coming down here so they can look into what happened."

"I brought this," Will approached the group and they saw that he had Penelope's laptop bag with him.

"How'd you know to get that?" Fran asked him.

"She texted me a couple hours ago," he told them. "I was at work so I couldn't get it down here until now."

"I'll get that to her," Emily started down the hall and stopped in front of the sliding door and knocked on the glass.

"Thanks," Penelope smiled at her as she stood in the doorway.

"How is he?" she saw the pale, motionless form in the bed.

"He's almost done with this round of medication," Penelope told her. "But he's not really coherent right now."

"Mark and Dave are making calls, so there's going to be people wanting to talk to all of you."

"We know,"

"I'm going to get back to everyone. Just call or text one of us if you need anything."

"Thank you," Penelope went back to Derek.

"I think his treatment is done," Derek told her as he pressed the call button.

A few moments later, the sliding doors opened and a doctor came into the room followed by a nurse pushing a cart with all kinds of medical supplies on it.

"My name is Dr. Rosen, I'm Ryan's primary physician." He held his hand out to Derek and he shook it. "You must be Derek, I've been informed of the circumstances invloving Ryan."

"How is he doing?" Derek asked as Penelope pulled him away from the bed so that they could examine Ryan.

"Much better," the nurse told them as she was spotted shaking a thermometer. "He still has a fever, but it's gone way down from what it was earlier."

"I've been informed of the situation around Ryan," Dr. Rosen looked at Derek. "I know you're planning on taking on guardianship of Ryan."

"Hopefully by the time that he's released from here," Derek sighed. "What will I need to do for him once I get him home?"

"He'll still need to be on breathing treatments twice a day, along with a course of antibiotics so that we can make sure the pneumonia will be out of his system completely with a couple of weeks after he's released."

"So what are you doing for him now?"

"Right now, he's getting his treatments every four hours. Once his fever breaks, we'll cut back on them and he can be moved to a step-down unit once we're sure that he's out of the woods."

"But we can stay with him right?" Penelope asked. "We don't want him to be alone when he wakes up."

"Only two people at a time," Dr. Rosen told them.

"I believe he's waking up," the nurse told them and Derek went back to the bed.

"Derek?" a small, raspy voice greeted him.

"Hey buddy," he smiled down at him as he took his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't know, are you really here?"

"I'm really here, and I'm not leaving until you can get out of this place."

"Good," Ryan's eyes closed again.

"The medication we have him on will make him sleepy," Dr. Rosen told them. "So he will be in and out the next several days."

"I plan on being here the whole time," Derek looked at the doctor.

"That's fine," The doctor nodded. "But there will be hospital staff in and out of this room quite a bit so try not to get in their way."

"As long as they're all helping him, they won't have a problem with me."

"I'm going to be doing some research in this room," Penelope told Dr. Rosen. "On my laptop. So I'm going to be tapping into the hospital's wi-fi. But it's all to help Ryan."

"No problem," Dr. Rosen nodded at her. "Besides, I know enough not to argue with you again."

"What'd you do?" Derek looked at her as the doctor and nurse left the room.

"I just had to convince them to let me and your mother in here to see Ryan," she smiled at him. "But by that time, Mark had already given the ok."

"You're amazing, Baby Girl."

"Stating the obvious," she smiled at him as she took her bag and started setting everything up.

Derek got settled on the chair beside the bed as he continued to clutch Ryan's hand in his own. He kept his focus on Ryan, hoping that he would wake up again. Penelope was already in her own little world as her hands flew across the keyboard hoping to find what she knew she was looking for.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? There will be a lot more excitement to come in future chapters. Hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!


	15. Chapter 15: Ryan Atwood

**AN:** I know it's been while, but I've barely had any time to myself this past week. I've been so busy fundraising and trying to get so much taken care of for my upcoming mission trip. This is the biggest thing that I've ever decided to do and I'm so excited. Plus my passport arrived in the mail this week. I was giddy for days. Sorry for rambling, but I'm very excited. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Ryan Atwood**

Everyone was situated in the private waiting room as they tried to take their minds off what was happening with Ryan. Will had gone home and had picked up Jack and Henry since they weren't allowed to visit Ryan in the ICU. Mark informed them that Ms. Clemens from the board of the orphanage would be arriving soon. Hotch took out his phone and opened a new text message that he had just received.

"Garcia will be sending some things to the fax machine in the nurse's lounge." He informed them. "She just needs the fax number."

"I'm on it," JJ got up and walked down the hall.

"So in your opinion," Emily looked at Mark. "How likely is it that Ryan will be going home with Derek when he gets out of here?"

"I'd say very likely," he told them. "I mean, I haven't seen him this passionate about something since he played high school football. And that was to impress the scouts because he saw it as the only way to get out of the neighborhood."

"You guys are not going to believe what Garcia found out," JJ came back to them with a pile of papers. "Do they not do background checks when hiring people?"

"Oh my god," Mark scanned the papers.

"Whoa," Emily gasped. "Child endangerment, sexual assault on a minor-"

"I had no idea about any of this." Mark told them. "We all had to go through a background check and were fingerprinted before we even had an interview."

"Then how did he get hired?" Hotch asked.

"Garcia says that it's not in any police file," JJ told them. "Someone went to a lot of trouble to hide this."

Ms. Clemens walked into them, followed by Gloria Johanssen, Ryan's social worker. They all introduced themselves and Hotch handed over the information that was discovered.

"None of this was in his personnel file," Ms. Clemens informed them. "This is a definite red flag. If we had known about this, he wouldn't have gotten hired."

"I'll call my friends from the local PD," Hotch took out his phone. "They'll pick him up and have him taken into custody immediately."

"How is Ryan?" Gloria asked them.

"He still has a fever," Fran informed her. "But it is going down rather quickly."

"I would like to talk to all of them, and get this home study done with so that he can take over guardianship."

"I'll go get Derek," Fran walked out and down the hall.

She stopped in front of the sliding doors and saw that Derek was fast asleep in the chair beside the bed as he grasped Ryan's hand in his. Ryan was also asleep while Penelope continued to work on her laptop. She made her way into the room as Penelope's hands paused on the keyboard.

"Ryan's social worker is here," Fran informed her. "She wants to talk to Derek."

"Hot Stuff, you better wake up." Penelope shook him and he grumbled before slowly opening his eyes.

"What's going on?" he glanced at Ryan in the bed before looking at the other two.

"Gloria is here," Fran informed her son.

"Ryan's social worker?" he slowly sat up.

"She wants to do the home study as soon as possible so that you'll be approved before Ryan is able to get checked out of here."

"I don't want to leave him,"

"He won't be alone," Penelope told him. "At least one of us will be with him."

"All right," he stood up and made his way out of the room.

"What are you working on?" Fran sat beside Penelope. "We already know about the director's past."

"I have refrained from doing this so far, but I'm scanning missing person's reports to see if I can find anything on Ryan."

"Anything yet?"

"No," she sighed. "The problem is I don't know which city he was in when he snuck onto the bus."

"Maybe you need another perspective."

"I need Reid," Penelope took out her phone and sent a text.

* * *

The others watched as Derek left with the social worker. Hopefully by the time that he returned, they would hear some good news. Dave sat up as his phone went off. He quickly read the text message and got up abruptly, startling everyone.

"That was odd," Reid commented.

"Definitely," Emily stated as Penelope came into them with her laptop and plopped down beside Reid.

"I asked Dave to sit with Ryan for me while I came out here to get some information from that head of yours, Genius Boy."

"What do you need?" Reid sat up.

"Derek said that he wants to eventually adopt Ryan so that no one can take him away," Penelope told all of them. "To do that, I need to find out Ryan's real name because the adoption can only be final if the biological parents rights are revoked."

"How do you know all that?" Emily asked

"I was four before my step-father could adopt me and give me his last name,"

They were all quiet like they always were whenever Garcia mentioned her biological father. It was a painful subject for her; they didn't think that Derek even knew the whole story.

"What do you need help with?" Reid spoke up.

"So Ryan was in that bus' luggage compartment for two days. How many miles could they have traveled in all that time?"

"It depends,"

"On?"

"On whether or not they made frequent stops, if they stopped at rest areas each night-"

"Ball park, Boy Genius." Penelope interrupted him. "This is for Ryan."

"It could be hundreds of thousands of miles,"

"Wait," JJ sat up. "I think I remember Mark saying that it was a west coast bus."

"I can work with that," Penelope started frantically searching. "That's a lot of missing kids."

"You have to consider the possibility that Ryan may not have been reported missing," Hotch spoke up. "We all assumed that he had a bad upbringing-"

"He's right," Emily sighed. "Ryan doesn't talk about his past, so we may never find out."

"I'm still going to go through all these photos," Penelope started scrolling.

* * *

Derek unlocked his door and led the social worker inside. Mark followed them in as Clooney came out to greet him.

"Hey boy," Derek knelt down. "Did you miss me?"

"Is he good with children?" Gloria asked.

"Absolutely," Derek told her. "He took a liking to Ryan the moment they met. He slept right beside him, and now they're inseparable when he's around."

"I'd like to see Ryan's room,"

"Right this way," he started to lead her up the stairs. "It's not completed. I had planned on redecorating it soon."

Mark followed behind them as they went from room to room, and Gloria asked Derek about his schedule and what he would do in certain situations, like if he had to be out of town for long periods of time.

When the three of them were finally walking out of the house again, Mark felt confident that the outcome would be in Derek's favor.

* * *

"My turn," Reid took the computer from Penelope. "I can go much faster anyway."

"Be my guest," she sighed. "It's just too depressing looking at all those photos of missing children."

"We're back," Mark announced as he led Derek into the room.

"How'd it go?" Hotch asked.

"I think it went well. He'll probably get a call by the end of the day."

"How's Ryan?" Derek sat beside Penelope. "Why aren't you in there with him?"

"He's the same," she told him. "And I needed to borrow Reid's brain."

"For what?"

"Trying to find out Ryan's real identity,"

"Any luck?"

"None-"

"I think I may have found something," Reid spoke up as he turned the computer towards the couple. "Does that face look familiar?"

"That's Ryan," Derek grabbed the laptop. "His last name is Atwood and he went missing from California."

"Newport Beach," Penelope added.

"He wasn't reported missing by his parents," Reid told them. "He was in the custody of his guardians."

"Sandy and Kirsten Cohen," Derek read off. "Those names sound familiar."

"Now that I have an actual name," Penelope took back the laptop. "It should be no problem trying to find information on him."

"You work on that, and I'm going to get back to Ryan." Derek stood up.

"If he wakes up, tell him I'm still here." She told him. "Just don't tell him what I'm doing."

"You got it," Derek smiled at her as he walked out of the room and started down the hall.

* * *

Derek couldn't help but smile at the sight that greeted him when he walked back into Ryan's room. Ryan was wide awake and smiling as he talked quietly with Dave and Fran.

"Derek," Ryan spotted him in the doorway. "You came back."

"I can never stay away for long," he smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

"His fever broke," Fran told him.

"Already?"

"The doctor was surprised too," Dave told him. "I guess they really did get him here just in time."

"The pneumonia is still lingering," Fran told him. "They said that if it stays under control, they're going to move him to a step-down unit in a couple days."

"Good," Derek sat on the edge of the bed. "Because everyone is really anxious to see you. They're all out in the waiting room."

"Is Penelope here too?" Ryan asked.

"She is, but she's doing some work right now."

"What kind of work?"

"That is a surprise for later,"

"A good surprise?"

"Hopefully,"

"I better get going," Dave glanced down at his watch. "Your sisters' plane should be landing soon."

"Desiree and Sarah are coming?" Ryan's eyes lit up.

"Yes, and they are very anxious to see you," Fran smiled at him.

"I'll be back in a little while," Dave left them alone.

"I want my alligator," Ryan said.

"The one that Penelope got you?" Derek asked him.

"These pillows are hard. If I have that, it will help me sleep."

"Once you get moved to the step-down unit, we will bring you anything that you want." Derek lay down beside him. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you got sick."

"It's ok, you're here now." Ryan smiled as Fran slipped out of the room.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, you scared all of us. Me especially."

"I'm sorry,"

"Nothing to be sorry for. You can't help it that you got sick."

"I missed you," Ryan said softly as he tried to hide a yawn from him.

"Go to sleep buddy," Derek told him. "Someone will be here when you wake up."

Ryan nodded as he moved closer to Derek and burrowed into his side. Derek smiled at him as he held him against him and he eventually drifted off.

* * *

Fran got back to their waiting room as JJ was returning from the nurses' lounge again with her arms full of more papers that Penelope had sent to the fax.

"Is that all on Ryan?" Fran asked as she spotted the thick piles as everyone started skimming through them.

"You would not believe what all he's been through," Emily sighed deeply. "His past is like a cocktail for how to be one of our unsubs."

"Derek is here for him now," Fran said.

"Oh my god!" Penelope gasped loudly and they all looked over at her.

"What's wrong?" JJ went to her.

"Derek's met Ryan before," she told them all. "You all have. And I'm talking long before he showed up at the orphanage."

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. I will be working on Abduction and will hopefully have it posted by the weekend. PLZ R&R!


	16. Chapter 16: Ryan's Past

**AN:** Hello everyone! I hope you're all staying warm wherever you are. We had our first snowfall this past Saturday. I'm so not ready for all the snow already. I wanted to get this chapter posted for you guys before the holiday weekend. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Ryan's Past**

"What do you mean that we've all met Ryan before?" JJ asked.

"Remember that big drug organization you guys took down almost a year ago?"

"Yeah, the biggest drug organization in California history as I recall."

"Does this picture look familiar to any of you?" Penelope turned her laptop so they could see a news page picture of Derek carrying a young child in his arms.

"That's the boy we found hiding in the basement," Reid said. "He was sleeping in a corner on a pile of blankets while rats skittered by. Derek was the only one who was able to coax him out and he refused to let go of him when we brought him to the hospital. The doctors finally had to sedate him."

"Look closer," Penelope zoomed in on the picture. "More specifically the boy's face; and those baby blues."

"Oh my god," Fran covered her mouth in shock. "That's Ryan."

"Do you think Ryan knows that it was Derek that carried him out?" JJ asked.

"He hasn't given any indication."

"I'm going to get Derek," Fran walked out of the room again and down the hall.

* * *

Derek saw his mother walking up to Ryan's room with an intense look on her face. He slowly untangled himself from Ryan and got up off the bed as she came into the room.

"What's going on?" he asked her.

"You need to get back to the others." She told him. "I'll stay with Ryan."

"Did Penelope find out anything?"

"Just go," she pushed him towards the door. "I can't tell you anything."

Derek walked out of Ryan's room and into their designated waiting room. He saw piles and piles of papers as everyone was reading through it all and passing it on to the next person.

"What'd you find?" he sat down beside Penelope.

"Brace yourself," she told him.

"Why?" he looked at all their faces.

"Look familiar?" Penelope showed him a picture on her laptop.

"Is that-Ryan?"

"He was the little boy that you found in the basement during that drug raid more than a year ago."

"Oh god," he sighed. "What else have you found?"

"This is what I have so far," she pulled up a document. "Ryan Francis Atwood, born March 16 in Fresno, California. The youngest child to Dawn and Frank Atwood, who also had another son, Trey. The cops were frequent visitors to the household for mostly domestic disturbance calls. Ryan and Trey were in and out of the emergency room for mysterious injuries, but no charges were ever filed."

"The mother covered for the father," Emily assumed.

"That's a safe assumption, considering there were many charges filed against Frank before he was finally sent to jail including several more domestic disturbances; there were also breaking and entering charges and assault charges."

"What finally got sent him to jail?" Hotch asked.

"Armed robbery at a convenience store. He shot the clerk, but thankfully he survived. Frank was held without bail until his trial date and was immediately taken into custody."

"How long did he get?" Reid asked.

"Ten years with good behavior."

"How old was Ryan when Frank was arrested?" Derek asked.

"Five," she told him. "After Frank was sent to prison, Dawn moved her and the boys to Chino, where that drug bust happened."

"I can only assume that it got worse." JJ said.

"Not at first. Dawn had a steady job, the boys were involved in school activities…"

"So what changed?"

"Dawn got laid off and I can only assume that was when she took to drinking and drugs to numb the pain. That's when the ER visits started up again."

"Dawn continued the cycle that Frank started?" Emily asked.

"No," Penelope shook her head. "Those visits were courtesy of Dawn's revolving door of boyfriends that she took up with."

"And the reports were more frequent right?" Hotch asked.

"You would be right. Along with the domestic disturbance and assault charges, there are reports of social workers removing the boys from Dawn's care when they found them sleeping in the park."

"But they were returned?"

"Apparently Dawn is very convincing," Penelope said. "She cleaned up the house and enrolled in parenting classes. The courts saw that she was trying so they returned the boys to her care."

"But I'm assuming that didn't last long," Derek spoke up. "Her good behavior only lasted a few weeks before she started to spiral again."

"Yeah,"

"You see it all the time where parents are so desperate to get their kids back just so they can receive their welfare check again. They use all that money on booze and drugs and the kids are neglected."

"There are also many reports from school officials," Penelope told them. "Ryan was sent down to the nurse's office when he started showing up with bruises again. And this one….I'm not sure Ryan would want you to know about this."

"What-" Derek took the last report from her and sighed deeply. "Oh."

"What is it?" Reid asked

"No offense, but I can't show you." Derek told them. "I think Ryan would be upset if he knew that me and Penelope knew."

"Understood,"

"What happened to Trey?" JJ asked.

"Well he stopped going to school not long after they were returned to Dawn. He started hanging out with a group of kids that were not good for him. He took Ryan along because sometimes it was safer than letting him stay at home."

"Ryan was the only child found on the property during the raid," Hotch stated.

"Trey was picked up a few weeks ago for trying to sell to an undercover cop. He hadn't been at home since long before the raid. He got sent to juvenile lock up. He won't be getting out until he's eighteen."

"How old is Trey now?"

"Twelve,"

"So basically he's going to age out as if he was in foster care," Derek stated.

"Pretty much," Penelope mumbled.

"What about the people Ryan was living with?" JJ asked.

"Sandy and Kirsten Cohen," Penelope started typing. "Kirsten Cohen's maiden name is Nichol. Her father, Caleb Nichol pretty much owns most of Newport. He runs the Newport Group."

"What about Sandy?"

"Sandy Cohen is a public defender. He's originally from The Bronx. He met Kirsten at Berkeley College. They got married after she graduated, had a son Seth, who is the same age as Ryan. Kirsten's mother got sick, so the family moved to Newport to help out her parents. After her mother died, they stayed in Newport and haven't left."

"We met Mr. Cohen," Reid looked at the picture on the computer screen.

"I think you guys met him at the precinct after the raid." Penelope told them.

"He was looking for Trey," Derek said. "I remember him trying to question Ryan about his whereabouts."

"I assume that Mr. Cohen was Trey's PD."

"Well a few weeks after the case was closed, the Cohen's took in Ryan." She looked at Derek. "But just a couple months later, Ryan showed up at the orphanage where you met him."

"So something happened when he was in their care that made him want to run away," Emily said.

"Derek," they all looked up and saw Mark standing in the doorway.

"Ooh, you're here." Penelope smiled at him. "Do you bring us good news?"

"I tried calling your phone," Mark looked at Derek. "Gloria called me not long after we left your house."

"What'd she say?"

"You passed the Home Study," Mark smiled at him. "Starting at this moment, you are Ryan's foster parent."

Garcia let out a high-pitched squeal as she hugged Derek tightly. He smiled as he kissed her deeply as everyone congratulated him.

"So that means that as soon as the doctor signs off on his release, I can take him home with me?"

"Yes it does."

"I can't wait to tell Ryan,"

"What is all this?" Mark saw all the papers spread out.

"Say hello to Ryan Atwood," Derek stood up and handed him a printed photo of Ryan. "Soon to be Morgan."

"Atwood," Mark read the information. "How'd you find out who he was?"

"JJ remembered you telling Derek that Ryan arrived on a bus from the West Coast." Penelope told him. "Reid skimmed through the photos of missing kids in that area and the rest is public record."

"Impressive,"

"Derek!" he looked and saw Dave coming down the hall with his sisters.

"Sarah, Des," he enveloped them in a group hug. "I'm glad you guys are here."

"You need us," Sarah told him.

"How's Ryan?" Desiree asked.

"His fever broke and the pneumonia is almost out of his system," he told them. "If everything goes smooth, they're going to move him to a step-down unit in a couple of days."

"Congratulate your brother," Penelope told them. "He's officially Ryan's foster parent. He passed the Home Study."

"Great!" they hugged him again.

"Can we finally meet him in person?" Desiree asked.

"Sure," he walked out of the room with them. "He fell asleep, but mom's in with him now. He should be awake by now."

"Derek I have an idea if you approve," JJ stopped them. "Henry and Jack can't visit Ryan in the ICU, so I came up with a special project for them to surprise Ryan with when he gets home."

"What kind of special project?"

"Making Ryan's room look more like a bedroom rather than a guest room."

"Go nuts," he smiled at her. "Just not too much."

"I'll call Will," she took her phone out as Derek led his sisters down the hall.

* * *

Fran looked up from the book she was reading to Ryan as she heard the door slide open. They both looked up and smiled as Derek came into the room.

"How long have you been awake?" Derek went to Ryan.

"Not long," he said softly. "Your mom was reading a book she found."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up," Derek sat beside him on the bed. "I had a meeting with everyone down the hall."

"What kind of meeting? Do you have a case?"

"No case," Derek assured him. "I will tell you all about the meeting very soon, but first there are two people waiting out in the hall who really want to meet you."

"Who?" Derek turned to the door and beckoned them in.

"You're here!" Fran ran to her daughters and embraced them tightly.

"Ma, as much as we're happy to see you," Desiree wriggled out of the death grip that Fran had them in. "We're here to see someone else."

"Ryan, I believe you recognize these two from your video chats." Derek looked at him. "These are my sisters, Sarah and Desiree."

"Hi," Ryan said softly.

"We finally get to meet you in person," Sarah went to the bed and hugged Ryan tightly, followed immediately by Desiree.

"Guys, back off a little bit." Derek told them. "He just met you. He's not used to all the hugging yet."

"Well you need to get over that real quick," Desiree smiled at Ryan. "Because we hug a lot."

"I'm getting used to that," Ryan smiled at them. "Penelope hugs A LOT."

"Which reminds me," Sarah turned on Derek and smacked him. "It's about damn time that you told her that you liked her!"

"Ow!" Derek rubbed his head.

"Sarah, language!" Fran admonished her daughter. "There is a child present."

"Right," Sarah looked at Ryan, who was laughing at them.

"And it was Ryan and Dave that helped to FINALLY get them together." Fran told her daughters. "They locked them in the wine cellar at the cabin."

"What?"

"I lured them down there…." Ryan spoke up as Fran stepped out of the room to give Sarah and Desiree a chance to get to know Ryan.

* * *

JJ unlocked the door to Derek's house as she was followed in by Will carrying several different colors of paint cans, and Henry and Jack who were grasping rolls of plastic covering. They all made their way upstairs and into the room that was designated as Ryan's.

JJ and Will set to work opening the paint cans and covering all the furniture in the room with the plastic.

"Here we go boys," JJ handed them each a paintbrush with different colored paint on each one. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," they both smiled.

"Here's what you do," Will positioned them at two separate walls. "Just fling the brushes at the walls, but don't let go off the brushes."

"Cool!" Jack saw the splatter pattern on the wall and ran over to get a different color to try it again.

JJ and Will helped Henry with his wall as the boys splattered more colors. They all spent the next several hours decorating the room for Ryan, all of them looking forward to the day when Ryan would get out of the hospital and be able to see the work they have done to welcome him officially into their family fold.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think of this? I hope you liked how it turned out. PLZ R&R!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY FRIENDS THIS WEEKEND!


	17. Chapter 17: Telling Ryan

**AN:** To all those who celebrate it, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. My family isn't having it until tomorrow afternoon so I spent all yesterday baby-sitting for my sister and aunt and uncle who got stuck working the holiday. But I also got in some writing time so that I could give you all an update. So I hope you like this! PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Telling Ryan**

When Ryan was finally able to be moved to the step-down unit, Derek and Penelope were there to accompany him to his new room. Once he was fully settled, Fran and Penelope made several trips to Derek's house so they could bring Ryan some things to keep him busy for the duration of his stay at the hospital. They brought him some pajamas so that he wouldn't have to stay in the hospital gown and his big stuffed alligator that Ryan had been requesting for days.

Derek gave him one of the gifts that he had got him on their last case; a giant fleece blanket that had 49ers on it. Ryan was a lot more at ease now that he could have everyone visit him all at once; so the room was constantly packed, much to the nurses' dismay whenever they tried to get into the room to check on Ryan.

* * *

Derek was currently in the waiting room with Hotch and Reid as he went through all the necessary paperwork before signing it all. He didn't know that being a foster parent entailed so much paperwork.

"This one is to get Ryan covered on your medical insurance," Reid handed him another set of papers. "And this is to set up an inheritance…."

"Inheritance?"

"If you have any extra money like savings or bonds, they recommend that you put some of it aside for Ryan when he comes of age,"

"You'll also get a stipend every month to cover all of his basic needs," Hotch told him.

"I don't need that," Derek said. "I mean I make plenty of money for us to be comfortable."

"Then put that money in a savings account for him. Or start a college fund."

"I'll do that," Derek nodded as he was handed another set of papers. "What's this one?"

"To get you started on the process to adopt Ryan."

"Done," Derek scrawled his signature on the last form and stood up.

"We have a problem," Dave rushed into them.

"Whatever it is, it's going to have to wait," Derek told him. "I'm on my way to tell Ryan the good news."

"This can't wait," Dave beckoned down the hall and Derek sighed. "She's on the warpath today."

"Agent Morgan, Agent Hotchner, Agent Reid,"

"It's Dr. Reid,"

"Chief Strauss," Hotch stood next to Derek. "What can we do for you?"

"You can tell me why you all have taken a leave of absence when there are heavy case loads to be done."

"I was told that our time off was approved and the case load was light at the moment anyway."

"You still need to be at the office, and why are you all at the hospital? I wasn't aware that one of you was hurt or sick."

"My son is the one that's a patient here," Derek told her. "Everyone is here for moral support."

"Your son?" Strauss was taken aback.

"Remember that kid you met very briefly? The one I said I was mentoring? Well I just became his foster parent. I also just started the process to adopt him."

"Go to Ryan," Dave told him. "We can handle this."

"You're sure?"

"Positive," Hotch told him. "Go tell him the good news."

"Thanks," Derek took off down the hall and they turned back to Strauss.

"Now where were we?" Hotch started.

"How long ago did he decide this?" Strauss demanded

"Pretty much since he met him for the first time," Dave told her. "What exactly is the problem here?"

"I should've been informed."

"Only the Unit Chief needs to be informed." Hotch told her. "So they can access whether or not it will hinder his ability to do his job. Which it hasn't so far. He's more focused than ever when he's out in the field, and he works his hardest so that he can get out of work early so that he has time to spend with Ryan."

"The director needs to be informed about all this. He's not going to be too pleased that Agent Morgan will be taking all this time off."

"He's already been informed and he's very excited for Agent Morgan."

"Excuse me?"

"You do know that his little vacation last year was so he and his wife could go to Haiti and officially adopt their two boys," Dave spoke up. "So when we mentioned that Agent Morgan was adopting he was all too eager to give him the time off."

"I do believe that means you're done here," JJ came up to them followed by the rest of the group.

"Exactly how much time will you all be needing off?" Strauss questioned.

"State Law requires that anyone planning to foster or adopt a child gets a mandatory month off so that they can help the child get acclimated to their new surroundings," Reid started spouting off.

"The rest of us will be coming back after Ryan gets settled in his new home," Hotch told her. "And Agent Garcia may be working from Agent Morgan's home since she will also be trying to get him used to his new surroundings."

"Are you implying that Agents Morgan and Garcia are romantically involved?"

"Yes they are, and you can't stop the relationship," Dave told her. "Those frat rules only apply if they're both field agents. Agent Garcia has never been in the field, so you have no reason to ban the relationship."

"The director also approved them," Hotch said. "He absolutely adores Penelope because she brings sweets to his department at least once a week. He thinks she'll make an excellent mother for Ryan."

"I do believe we're done here…Ma'am." Emily stated and they all tried to hold in their laughter as Chief Strauss left in a huff.

"That was Strauss?" Sarah asked.

"What did you ever see in her?" Desiree looked at her step-dad.

"It was a long time ago," Dave told her. "I'm much happier with your mother."

"Good answer," Fran kissed him. "The nurse just told us that Ryan can have real food again. What do you say we go get some pizza to bring back?"

"What does he like?" Sarah asked.

"Bacon and pineapple," JJ told her. "With Ranch as the sauce."

"Weird kid," Desiree said. "But he gets what he wants."

"Will should be getting off work soon," JJ took out her phone. "I'll just have him pick up Henry and come here."

Everyone walked out and towards the exit to go and get Ryan's surprises to bring back.

* * *

Derek waited until everyone but Penelope filed out of the room before approaching the bed that Ryan was situated on. He was coloring a page in another coloring book that Penelope had gotten him, along with another set of coloring pencils.

"Hey kid, I need to tell you something." Derek told him.

"What is it?" he looked up at him.

"I know you've been wondering about where you'll go once you're released from here," he pushed the rolling table away as he sat beside him.

"The orphanage," Ryan said softly. "But it'll be better now. Mark told me he's taking over the Director's job."

"What?"

"He stopped by a little bit ago," Penelope told him. "He was offered the job a couple days ago, and he just accepted it."

"Well I'm glad that Mark will be making the orphanage better," Derek said. "But you won't be going back to the orphanage."

"Then where will I go?"

"How would you like to come to my house?"

"For how long?"

"How about permanently?"

"Huh?"

"Pretty much since I met you, I've been making plans to become your foster parent. And I was just approved."

"You mean I'll be with you all the time?" Ryan asked softly.

"That's the plan," Derek smiled at him.

"So when I wake up, you'll be there? And when I get out of school, I'll go to your house?"

"It'll be your house too," Derek smiled at him. "But yes. Though I won't always be there when you wake up because I will still have cases. But if I'm not there, either my mom or Penelope will be there."

"Absolutely," Penelope smiled at him.

"When do I get out of here?" Ryan asked.

"A couple more days," Derek smiled. "But I have also started the process to officially adopt you so that no one can take you away from us."

"Really?"

"The problem with that is that we had to find out your real last name to do it."

"Oh,"

"Which we did," Derek took out the printed photo of him and Ryan during the drug raid. "Ryan Atwood. Did you know this was me?"

"Not at first," Ryan said softly. "But when I met the team, I saw an old case file on Reid's desk and I figured it out."

"What's important is that what we found out doesn't mean a thing. I still want to adopt you and make you a permanent part of our family."

"You really promise?" Ryan asked softly.

"I promise,"

"Do you Pinky Promise?"

"What?"

"Penelope says that it's not actually a promise unless it's a Pinky Promise. Jack and Henry said the same thing."

"They're right," Penelope came over and linked pinkies with Ryan. "I promise."

"I promise," Derek linked his other pinky. "Nothing we find out down the road will ever make us change our mind."

"So does that mean that Penelope is here to stay too?" Ryan looked at her.

"I sure hope so," Derek smiled at her.

"I'm here forever, if you want me." She told them. "But we will take this slow."

"Whatever speed you want, Sweetness." Derek told her.

"If you have sleepovers, don't be too loud." Ryan said, startling them both.

"What?" Derek was shocked at the words that came out of his mouth.

"I may only be eight, but I know what goes on behind closed doors."

"Pizza!" the door opened and everyone started to file in.

"Oh thank god," Derek said, thankful to stop the current conversation.

"Wyan!" Henry ran to the bed.

"Did you tell him?" Jack asked. "Does he know?"

"He knows," Derek smiled at him.

"You're going to live with Uncle Derek," Jack told Ryan. "Now we can play together all the time."

"We got your favorite pizza," Desiree placed a plate on the rolling table and put in back in front of Ryan. "And cheesy bread with extra cheese and ranch for the dip."

"Thank you," Ryan smiled at her as he started eating.

Everyone stayed for a few more hours before they started packing up and heading home for the night. Derek rubbed his eyes as he was settled on the chair in the room as Ryan lay on the bed with his eyes closed. Penelope was the last to leave and started gathering her things as Derek kept pulling on her hand to make her stay with him.

"I have some things to do in the morning," she told him and lowered her voice as she glanced at the bed. "I'm going shopping with your mom and sisters to prepare for his homecoming."

"So you can stay and go in the morning," he pulled her down and captured her lips as she moaned against him.

"I can't," she pulled away. "You always distract me."

"I can't help it. You make me do things-"

"I'm still awake, you know." They heard from the bed and immediately pulled away from each other.

"That's why I'm not spending the night," Penelope said as she went to Ryan. "I will be back tomorrow after I run some errands."

"Ok," he smiled as she kissed his forehead. "Bye."

"Bye sweetie," she went back to Derek, who was now holding her things. "I have to go. I'll call you in the morning."

"Counting the minutes, Princess." He gave her one last kiss before letting her go.

"Both of you get some sleep," Penelope warned before walking out of the room.

"Where's Penelope's family?" Ryan asked

"We're her family," Derek told him. "Us and the team."

"What about her parents? And she mentioned brothers when we were up at the cabin. Do they ever visit her?"

"Her mom and step-dad died when she was eighteen," Derek sat beside him. "And she doesn't have a good relationship with her brothers."

"Why not?"

"They just drifted apart, I guess."

"What about her dad?"

"I already told you-"

"You said her step-dad died. What about her other dad?"

"I'm not sure what happened to him. She never talks about him." Derek looked at him. "It's painful for her so he either died or he abandoned her and her mom."

"So she never sees her family?"

"Not since she came out here."

"That's sad. Everyone needs a family."

"Like I said, we're her family now. She'll always have us."

"Will you sleep beside me tonight?" Ryan asked

"Of course," Derek covered them both with the fleece blanket and Ryan clutched his stuffed alligator to him.

"I miss Clooney," Ryan mumbled.

"He misses you too."

"Do you want me to call you dad?"

"You can call me whatever you want," Derek told him. "If you want to continue to call me Derek, that's fine. If down the road, you eventually want to call me dad, that's fine too."

"Ok,"

"Can I ask you something important?" Derek looked at him.

"Sure,"

"The family you were living with, The Cohen's, why did you run away?"

"I wasn't happy with them," he said softly.

"What do you mean?"

"They were always going to these fancy parties and dragging me and their son, Seth along. I always felt out of place there and everyone in town looked down on me because of where I lived before."

"And they wanted to send me to this fancy private school," he continued. "The principal looked down on me too."

"What about Seth? He's the same age as you. Did you get along?"

"He was ok," he mumbled. "It's just-all he did was play video games and read comic books. I like to be active."

"What about the other kids?"

"Seth's neighbor, Marissa, she's a spoiled princess. She asks her daddy for something and she gets it. And her mom is mean."

"How is she mean?"

"She said that I was riff-raff and that I didn't belong in her town. And Caleb, he's Mrs. Cohen's dad, he said that he would do everything in his power to make sure that his family wasn't tainted with my dirty blood."

"Well I'm glad that you're here with us," Derek told him. "No one will ever make you feel like you did back in Newport."

"I know that now," Ryan smiled.

"All right, lights out." Derek reached for the overhead light. "Get some sleep, kid."

"Good night, Derek."

"Good night," he smiled as Ryan snuggled up against him and they drifted off.

Meanwhile in Newport, Sandy Cohen was receiving the news that the boy he had been searching the last several months for, had just been located….

* * *

 **AN:** Cliffhanger! I'm so evil! LOL! Now The Cohen's will be in this story more. What will their reaction be when they find out where Ryan is living and with who? Stay tuned to find out. PLZ R&R!


	18. Chapter 18: The Cohen's And

**AN:** Another update for all of you. This is one of the long chapters. The Cohen's are introduced in this chapter as well. I hope that you all like this. For all of the followers who are familiar with The OC, The Cohen's may be a little out of character from how they were on the show, but this is the way I had to work it out so that it would fit for this story. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 18: The Cohen's And Ryan's Homecoming**

Sanford (Sandy) Cohen was starting to head up to bed one night with his wife Kirsten, when the doorbell rang. They looked at each other puzzled, both wondering who would be dropping by this late at night. Their son, Seth had been asleep for hours.

"If that's Julie Cooper AGAIN about the fundraiser-" Kirsten started to rant.

"I'll take care of it," Sandy opened the door, ready to give their next door neighbor an earful when he was stopped mid-rant by their unexpected visitor.

"Paul,"

"I'm sorry for the late-night visit, but I just got back into town and I was informed of something that I thought you guys would want to know right away."

"Is this about Ryan?" Kirsten Cohen joined her husband at the door.

"Is it all right if I come in?"

"Sure, Seth's sleeping." Sandy let him in and they all went into the kitchen to talk.

Paul Jeffreys was a family attorney that they had hired when they had taken in Ryan Atwood, the quiet child who had seen way too much in his young life and deserved a break. He had only been with them a few weeks when they decided to officially adopt him, but before they were able to tell him the good news he had run off. They woke up one morning all set to tell him and Seth, and discovered the guest room empty of all his belongings and no trace of him at all.

"As you know, I've been working on locating Ryan since you hired me." Paul told them. "As I'm sure you've been pulling all your resources as well."

"We hired a private investigator," Sandy told him. "But there's been no news."

"Until now," Paul told them.

"What do you mean?" Kirsten spoke up.

"This morning, there was a petition filed to have Dawn and Frank Atwood's parental rights revoked."

"Who filed the petition?"

"Someone by the name of Steven Powers. He's a family and adoption lawyer who practices in the DC area."

"DC?"

"Do you know who this Powers' client is?" Sandy asked.

"Not yet," Paul said. "But I'm going to find out all I can about this petition."

"I'll call our PI and see if he can find anything," Sandy stated.

"I'm sorry that I can't tell you more at this time," Paul told them.

"It's all right, at least it was something." Sandy led him to the door. "Just let us know if you find out anything else."

"Will do," Paul walked out and Sandy closed the door behind him.

"How in the world did that boy get to DC?" Kirsten asked

"I don't know, but I'm calling Tim." Sandy grabbed the phone to call their PI. "We will find Ryan."

"But will we be able to get him back?" Kirsten questioned.

* * *

Ryan was bouncing on the hospital bed in anticipation as Derek gathered all of his things. Today was the day that they all had been looking forward to; Ryan was finally getting out of the hospital and coming to Derek's to live permanently.

"Are you ready kid?" Derek smiled at him as he zipped up his overnight bag.

"Yes!" he leapt off the bed as Penelope came in with a wheelchair.

"You limo, kind sir." She smiled at him.

"A wheelchair?" Ryan stopped in his tracks. "I can walk."

"Hospital policy," Derek told him. "You have to ride in it if you want to leave."

"Fine," he huffed as he sat down in it.

Derek and Penelope smiled at each other as they all started out of the room. Penelope pushed the wheelchair into the elevator as Derek followed with Ryan's things and they took it down to the lobby. Derek's car was already parked in front of the sliding doors. Ryan climbed out of the wheelchair and got into the back of the car as Derek and Penelope loaded all of his things. Once they were all situated in the car, they finally pulled away from the hospital.

"We have to stop at the pharmacy," Derek told them. "So we can pick up your prescriptions and the breathing machine for your treatments."

"Ok," Ryan responded as he looked out the window.

"What's wrong buddy? Are you tired?"

"A little," he said softly.

"We'll be home soon,"

"Home," Ryan repeated and Penelope smiled back at him.

"That's right. Your home." She told him and he smiled back at her.

They reached the drug store and the three of them walked inside with Ryan walking in the middle of Derek and Penelope as he held each of their hands. While Derek went to see if Ryan's prescriptions were ready, Penelope took Ryan to browse the aisles.

"Do you see anything you like?" Penelope asked him as they walked down the snack and candy aisle.

"Lots of things," he responded.

"What's your favorite kind of candy?"

"Kit Kat," he told her. "And peanut butter cups."

"You guys ready to go?" Derek came up to them with a pharmacist bag.

"We sure are," Penelope smiled at him and they walked out of the store together.

* * *

Everyone else was gathered at Derek's house, ready to welcome Ryan to his new home. There was a big welcome banner hanging above the stairs that everyone had helped decorate, and Jack and Henry had made their own poster board creations for Ryan. Fran and Emily and JJ had spent most of the morning making all the food.

"Derek just pulled in!" Sarah announced as she was keeping watch at the window.

They all gathered at the foot of the stairs to wait for them as they heard a lot of talking coming towards the door. The three of them finally entered the house with Penelope and Ryan bringing up the front as Derek carried all of Ryan's belongings in behind them.

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted, making Ryan jump back into Penelope.

"It's all right little one." Fran went to him. "It's just us. We wanted to give you a proper homecoming."

"Welcome home Ryan," Jack went to him.

"Thanks," Ryan smiled as he saw everyone wearing party hats on their heads, Clooney included.

The pooch ran up to Ryan excited and started licking his face as Derek set all of Ryan's things down by the foot of the stairs. Everyone smiled as Ryan took in his permanent surroundings.

"It looks like the food isn't quite done yet," Derek said. "Why don't we go check out the changes that have been made?"

"Changes?" Ryan looked back at him. "What kinds of changes?"

"The ones in your room for starters," Derek led him upstairs as Penelope followed them with Jack and Henry in tow.

"We painted!" Henry told Ryan as they opened the door to his room and walked in.

"What do you think kid?" Derek asked Ryan as he saw a look of awe on his face.

The walls were all decorated with multi-colored paint splatters while the ceiling had little stick-on stars and moons that would glow in the dark when the lights were turned off. The bed sheets had been changed to a dark green color and there were a few additions to the room.

There was a bigger bookcase added alongside the other one; both filled to capacity with books of all different lengths and genres. There was a desk set up in the corner on one side of the window with a rolling black, leather chair, and on the other side of the window in the corner was an area that had a makeshift fort made up of a sheet tacked up to the wall and pulled back to reveal bean bag chairs, blankets and some pillows.

"We helped Aunt Pen make that," Jack told him. "It's your Reading Corner."

"Thank you," Ryan smiled at him as he took in the rest of the room.

There were many framed photos hung up all around the room. The group photo of Ryan, Jack and Henry from the zoo was hung up on the wall above the desk. There was a group photo of Ryan with Derek and Penelope during one of their movie nights set up on the bedside table. There were many more photos from different outings hung up on the walls.

"This is all mine?" Ryan asked softly.

"It's all yours," Derek told him.

"Come look at your bathroom," Penelope opened the connecting door. "We hope you like how we decorated it."

Ryan looked around at the walls decorated with soccer, basketball and football decals. There were matching rugs set up all around and the shower curtain matched as well. The sink had its own cup set up beside the faucet along with a collection of items that were set up including a new toothbrush, and new toothpaste and mouthwash. There was also a wooden hamper set up in the corner.

"Thank you," Ryan hugged Penelope.

"Your welcome," she smiled down at him. "But it wasn't all me. Everyone was working like crazy to get this finished in time for your homecoming."

"Come on," Derek led Ryan out of the room and the group of them went back downstairs. "The food should be just about done."

"Just got done!" Fran announced as she saw them all coming back downstairs as JJ and Emily helped her set everything out on the counter. "Come and get it everyone!"

They all converged on the food as they all filled their plates to capacity. Ryan didn't know what he wanted because some it he had never had before, so Derek just gave him a spoonful of everything. Ryan, Jack and Henry were positioned with their plates on the coffee table in front of them as they ate. The adults took spots where they could find or they just stood around as they tried to eat what was on their plates while trying to keep a good grip on their plates.

Derek and Penelope sat beside each other on the loveseat as they watched Ryan slowly eating as he looked around at all the conversations going on all around him. He had a huge smile on his face as he took everything in.

* * *

Sandy had just dropped Seth off at school and was making his way back to the house. Both Paul and Tim had called him and said that they had news for him. So he called Kirsten and she told him that she would meet him at home. They pulled into the driveway at the same time as they both spotted two other cars waiting for them.

"I found out some things," Tim Malcolm, their private investigator, informed them.

"Come on in," Sandy unlocked the door and they all converged into the kitchen.

"So what'd you find out?" Kirsten asked.

"Pretty much since he ran away from here, Ryan has been a ward of the state of Virginia." Tim told them.

"Then why weren't we informed that he was there when he showed up?"

"He didn't give them his last name. For the past several months, he was known as Ryan smith."

"Well how did he end up there?" Sandy asked.

"He snuck into a luggage compartment of one of the local buses and rode there for the next two days until the driver found him. The authorities were called and he started taking up residence in a nearby orphanage."

"Did you find out who filed the petition to adopt him?" Sandy looked at Paul.

"Yes," he took a file out and opened it up to show them a picture. "Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI out of Quantico, Virginia."

"A federal agent?" Sandy started going through the file.

"He's been volunteering for years at the orphanage where Ryan showed up. Pretty much since he met him, Agent Morgan has been taking Ryan on outings and weekend trips."

"He also started the paperwork very early on to become Ryan's foster parent," Tim spoke up. "He took the required classes and put in the time to bond with him."

"Something doesn't feel right," Sandy stated. "After just a couple of meetings with Ryan, he decided to take him in?"

"Sandy, we did the same thing." Kirsten reminded him. "It's obvious that this Agent Morgan saw how special Ryan was from the beginning; just like we did."

"You're right," Sandy sighed.

"Agent Morgan did everything by the book," Paul told him. "Until recently."

"What do you mean?"

"The director of the orphanage put Ryan's health at risk and he ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. Agent Morgan was away on a case, but his new girlfriend rushed him to the hospital when she showed up at the orphanage and he was unresponsive. Agent Morgan had his step-dad pull some strings to get him out of the orphanage and into his home when he was released."

"His step-dad has connections?"

"More than we'll ever know," Tim spoke up. "His step-dad is David Rossi, another agent with the BAU who also writes crime novels in his spare time. He's one of the ones who started the BAU so he knows all the higher ups and if he asks any of them for a favor, they'll gladly do it for him."

"So what does all this mean for our chances of getting Ryan back?" Kirsten asked.

"That's the bad news," Paul told them. "Ryan is now a resident of the state of Virginia. He has no personal connections to the state of California anymore."

"What about us?"

"You only fostered him for a few weeks. You didn't even move to adopt him-"

"We were planning to. We didn't want to do anything until we talked to Ryan about it. But he ran away before we could."

"Well Mr. Morgan has already filed a petition to start the adoption process. By now, Ryan has been released from the hospital and has taken up residence in his new home."

"But he's a single guy working for the FBI. That has to take him all over the country most of the time."

"That's true, but he also has a support system in place. His mom lives a few blocks from him and can take care of Ryan while he's gone. So can his current girlfriend as well. She also works for the FBI, but as their technical analyst so she doesn't travel with them unless it's absolutely necessary."

"So what you're saying is that we have no rights?"

"Unless Agent Morgan messes up in some big way, but I don't really see that happening."

"Then find some dirt on him; anything-" Sandy looked at Tim.

"I'll try," the private investigator told him. "But you may have to come to terms with the fact that Ryan Atwood may never be back in your care again."

* * *

The homecoming party continued for several more hours. Mark showed up after awhile and Derek followed him outside so that they could discuss a few more things that Derek had to take care of sooner rather than later. Penelope got out some board games and Ryan, Jack and Henry started playing around the coffee table.

"Where's Derek?" Ryan asked when he got bored of playing Candy Land and Memory, the only games that Henry and Jack could play.

"He's outside talking with Mark," Penelope told him.

"Still? He's been out there a long time."

"I'll go see what's taking him so long," Dave got up and walked to the back door.

"I think they're all bored with these games," Fran commented as she saw the boys move away from the coffee table.

"They're little kid games," Ryan said softly. "But I don't have anyone else to play any of the other games with."

"I'll play a game with you," Reid spoke up. "Which one do you want to play?"

"How about a card game?" Ryan's eyes lit up. "I can play poker."

"You know how to play poker?" Hotch looked over at him.

"I've known how for awhile now."

"I don't think this is a good idea," Will commented. "Isn't Spencer banned from all of the major casinos in Nevada?"

"I'll go easy on him," Reid said.

"I can't make the same promise," Ryan commented as JJ found a deck of cards and Penelope dealt them out between the two of them.

Dave opened the sliding back door as he saw Derek and Mark sitting on the steps of the back deck that led down into the big backyard. Derek turned back as he heard the noise and stood up as he saw his step-dad standing there.

"Is everything all right?" Derek asked him.

"Ryan's asking where you are so you might want to wrap this up and come in and rejoin the festivities."

"That's those insecurities I told you about creeping up to the surface," Mark told him as they all went back inside.

"What is going on here?" Dave commented as they walked back towards the living room and came upon everyone crowded around the coffee table as Ryan and Reid faced each other as they held playing cards in their hands.

"This is definitely something to see," Hotch looked back at them. "They're playing poker and I can't tell who is bluffing."

"Pretty Boy, go easy on the kid." Derek told him.

"I think you should be telling Ryan to go easy on Spencer," Sarah told him.

"Ok, you two are not betting any money," Fran told them. "So are you ready to show your hands?"

"You first," Ryan told Reid.

"All right," he laid his cards out in front of him. "Straight flush in clubs. How about you?"

"Royal flush in hearts," Ryan laid his cards out and smirked at Reid. "I win."

"I never thought I'd see the day," Rossi looked around the room as he saw everyone's speechless expressions matching his own. "Someone actually beat our resident genius at poker."

"Ok, I know you were counting cards." Penelope glanced at Reid before looking Ryan in the eyes. "Were you?"

"Maybe," he revealed.

"Where did you learn that?" Derek asked.

"Dawn," he said softly. "She liked The Reno." (Reference to The OC Season One episode, 'The Strip'.)

"And she took you with her?" Emily asked. "Are kids even allowed in the casino?"

"Trey snuck us in."

"Note to self: Don't play Ryan for money at anything." Derek said. "It's time to put the cards away now. It's getting late."

"Yes it is," Hotch glanced at his watch. "We should probably get going. Jack has school in the morning."

"And we have to be back in the office tomorrow," JJ sighed.

"Garcia, I'm giving you a couple more days off." Hotch told her.

"Thank you, sir." She smiled at him.

"We're staying at Mom and Dave's tonight," Sarah told Derek.

"It'll give you some family time," Desiree added.

"Try to keep Ma away at least until nine tomorrow," Derek told them.

"We will do our best,"

Everyone packed up and headed out as Derek walked them all to the door. He came back in and saw Ryan and Penelope packing up the playing cards and all the board games.

"Time for you to take a shower and have your treatment," Derek told him. "And don't forget to brush your teeth because I will check."

"All right," Ryan mumbled.

"All of your pajamas are in the top drawer of your dresser." Penelope told him and he nodded as he headed upstairs.

"Are you planning on staying tonight, Baby Girl?" Derek asked her as he went to go get Ryan's medicine ready.

"I brought my go bag just in case," she smiled at him. "I can stay if you don't mind."

"Not at all," he smiled at her as they finished cleaning everything up.

A little while later, Ryan came back downstairs after he finished with his shower. Derek was setting up the breathing machine as Penelope started to measure out his medicine.

"Here's your antibiotic," Penelope told him. "Make a face all you want, but you need to take it."

Ryan took the medicine spoon from her and swallowed it down, followed by a big gulp of water to get the taste out of his mouth. Derek got the medicine measured out into the machine and took Ryan to the couch as he plugged it in.

"You need to keep this in your mouth until all the medicine runs out." Derek told him and he nodded.

Ryan placed the mouthpiece in his mouth as Derek turned on the machine and it let out a loud noise. Derek sat beside him on the couch as he waited for it to finish and Ryan's eyes started to droop. Once it was finished, Penelope went to clean the parts as Derek led Ryan upstairs.

"Can I sleep with you?" Ryan mumbled.

"Tonight you can since it's your first official night in your new home," Derek relented."But tomorrow, you're going to start sleeping in your own bed."

"Ok," Ryan climbed onto the king-sized bed and lay down in the middle as Penelope came into the room with Clooney following behind her. "You're still going to read me a story right?"

"Absolutely," Derek went to his go-bag and pulled out a boxed book collection. "I picked this up when I got your new blanket. I remember you telling me that you wanted to read them from the beginning,"

"Harry Potter," Ryan smiled.

"I figure we can read one chapter a night, and when we finish a book we'll have a movie night with the corresponding movie."

"And compare it to the book." Ryan added.

"Sure," Derek smiled at him as he took the first book out and opened it up.

The three of them curled up on the bed together with Ryan situated between Derek and Penelope as Clooney lay at the end of the bed. Derek read through the first chapter and then put it on the bedside table until the next night. They all got comfortable on the bed as Derek turned out the light and they all eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I know absolutely nothing about poker so I had to look up what was a winning hand. If I got it wrong, don't blame me, blame the internet. LOL! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. PLZ R&R!


	19. Chapter 19: First Day

**AN:** This is one of the shorter chapters, but I wanted to give you guys something since it's been awhile since I updated this. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 19: First Day**

Derek was roused from his deep sleep when he heard harsh coughing. He slowly sat up and saw the spot next to him empty. He climbed out of bed and walked towards the direction where the coughing was coming from. He walked into Ryan's bathroom and saw Ryan standing outside the opened shower curtain as the hot water ran down from the sprayer and the steam poured out.

"Ryan?"

"I found it!" Penelope rushed in.

Derek watched as she knelt down in front of Ryan with the rescue inhaler that the doctor had sent home with Ryan as a precaution. Penelope made sure it was in his mouth before pressing down on the top. A few seconds later, Ryan's breathing got under control and Derek went to him.

"Are you ok buddy?" he knelt beside Penelope.

"Yeah," he said softly.

"Was that a little scary for you?" Penelope asked him and he nodded.

"I think it's time for your treatment," Derek picked him up as they all walked out.

They all went downstairs and Derek placed Ryan on the couch with the TV remote. Clooney jumped up beside him and lay down.

"Find something to watch while I get your medicine ready," Derek told him.

"Ok," Ryan mumbled as Derek walked into the kitchen.

"What happened?" he looked at Penelope.

"I woke up just thirty seconds before you did when I heard all the coughing," she told him. "I just quickly turned on the hot water and rushed down here to find the inhaler."

"How did you know to use the steam?"

"One of my brothers had asthma. He was constantly seeing doctors and allergists and had to keep getting his medication changed whenever the humidity changed drastically."

"Why didn't he come get us?"

"Because he's used to taking care of himself," she told him. "Something else you need to help him with."

"I'll add that to the very long list," he sighed.

"You're doing fine." She assured him.

"It's only the first day," he went back to Ryan with his medicine.

Penelope started to make them all some breakfast as she watched Derek with Ryan. He was too hard on himself. Heck he was better than most parents when they were with their biological kids. She just had to make him see that things could only get better; for all of them.

* * *

The team was gathered in the round table room reading through a file as they listened to Rossi talking on his phone.

"Yes I did take your spare key….Your son told me to….The girls told me that you are banned from his house until nine….You may be a new grandma but he's also a new father….Well you need to let him do this himself….It's almost nine anyway.."

"She's not going to be one of those overbearing grandmothers?" Emily asked.

"She's just excited," JJ stated. "Besides, I think Ryan uses that cuteness factor he has to get to her."

"Oh yes, the cuteness factor," Emily smiled. "We've all been a victim to it."

"I love that woman," Dave hung up his phone. "But she needs to back off a little or Derek's going to just ban her from his house permanently."

"She has five more minutes," Reid glanced at his watch.

"Desiree sent me a text saying that she's been up since seven-thirty."

"Ordering things off of Amazon to spoil Ryan with no doubt," JJ commented.

"Yes she has," Dave sighed.

"And making Christmas plans already," Emily added. "Even though Halloween is only just next week."

"Pretty much," Dave nodded. "But I did help her pick out a bike for him."

"All right, back to work." Hotch came back into the room, after being summoned to Strauss' office.

"What'd she want?" Emily asked.

"I requested that we not take cases that would take us out of the state," he told them. "We'll just assist the other teams from here. The director approved it, but Strauss didn't agree with it."

"You made sure to call the director before your meeting, didn't you?" Dave asked.

"Of course,"

"So what do we have?" Dave opened the file.

"It's a cold case…." Hotch started to explain.

* * *

Derek and Penelope sat at the table as they watched Ryan slowly pick at his food as he occasionally took a bite. They glanced at each other as Penelope started to clear the table.

"Not hungry, buddy?" Derek asked him.

"I-"

"It's ok, you're not going to hurt our feelings." Derek assured him.

"It's just-too much…"

"I tend to go a little overboard when I'm cooking for more than just me," Penelope smiled at him. "We'll make something a little lighter for lunch."

"Come on," Derek led him back into the living room where Clooney was waiting for them. "Do you want to watch a movie?"

Ryan shrugged and Derek sighed as he turned on Netflix and started scrolling through the titles before stopping on one that he thought Ryan would like.

"Since Dave's working, can your mom bring over Mudgie?" Ryan asked.

"I'll call her," Derek went to get his phone and dialed his mom's number.

"It's about time!" her loud voice greeted him. "I've called you several times."

"Ma, calm down. I wanted some one-on-one time with Ryan."

"Didn't Penelope spend the night?"

"Yes, but she's my girlfriend. I'm glad she spent the night though. I wouldn't have known what to do this morning if I was by myself."

"What happened?"

"Ryan had an asthma attack, I think." He sighed. "I called the pediatrician that JJ reccomended to me, and he said it was because of Ryan's sickness and the new surroundings. Ryan said he used to get them, but only when he was sick."

"Is he ok now?"

"Yeah, Penelope turned on the hot water in his shower and told him to breathe in the steam while she went to find the rescue inhaler that the doctor sent home with him."

"That was some fast thinking,"

"Anyway, Ryan wanted me to ask you if you could bring Mudgie over?"

"Absolutely," she stated. "I'm going to run by the store and get a few things first."

"Ma,"

"It's things that he needs,"

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll see you in awhile."

He hung up the phone and saw that Penelope had already cleaned up the kitchen and was coming down the stairs with some things in her arms.

"Here we go," Penelope went to Ryan. "The new blanket that Derek just got you and your alligator."

"Thank you," Ryan mumbled.

"Here's some Gatorade," Derek handed him a bottle. "My mom and sisters are on their way with Mudgie."

"Ok," he said softly. "When can I go back to school?"

"You miss it?" Derek sat beside him.

"I'm bored,"

"You can go back once we get the all clear from the doctor. We have an appointment with your new pediatrician in a couple of days." Derek told him as Penelope left the room. "But you won't be going back to your old school."

"Why not?"

"Well I don't live in that district," Derek said as Penelope came back with the information that Mark had left with them the night before. "Plus Mark reccomended a really great school for you."

"What one?"

"Here's the information," Derek handed him the booklet. "Go ahead and look through it. They have really good elective classes and after-school activities."

Ryan seemed to perk up as he looked through the booklet. He got more and more excited as he looked through the list of elective classes.

"They have foreign language classes," Ryan smiled. "You weren't allowed to take them at my old school until you got to high school."

Penelope and Derek sighed with relief as Ryan continued to perk up. They had contemplated taking Ryan to the doctors, thinking that he was getting sick again. Thankfully, it was just a case of cabin fever. Which they understood with him being a very active kid.

"What's that?" Ryan saw Penelope come in with what looked like several plastic tackle boxes and place them down on the coffee table.

"I was going to work on making some jewelry and keychains," she told him.

"She does a lot of arts and crafts projects," Derek told him.

"Can I help?" Ryan asked.

"Sure," she smiled at him as he got down beside her. "Why don't you pick out what beads and charms that you like and I'll make you up a keychain."

"Ok," he opened the boxes and started taking out the ones that he liked.

"We're here!" Sarah announced as her and Desiree came in with Mudgie.

"Easy girl," Derek held her back from the coffee table, not wanting her to swallow one of the small parts. "Where's Ma?"

"Right here," Fran came in with a couple bags. "I brought a couple things that will be useful to have for Ryan."

"Like what?"

"An air purifier for one," Fran took it out of the box and started to set it up. "You just let it run throughout the day and it removes all the allergens from the air."

"And the other bag?"

"A humidifier," she told him. "Just set it up in his room at night. It should help especially now during allergy season."

"Thanks," he smiled at her.

"How is he?" Desiree asked.

"He has cabin fever," he told them. "But he got excited when I told him about his new school."

"This looks fancy," Sarah looked through the brochure.

"I don't have to wear a uniform do I?" Ryan looked back at them.

"It's not a private school," Derek assured him. "It's a school for kids who aren't able to thrive in a regular school."

"So it's for gifted kids?" Fran asked.

"No, there's kids with all different kinds of backgrounds. Some of them even attend school at home doing their work online."

"But I get to go to an actual school right?" Ryan asked.

"Yes," Derek smiled at him. "We have a meeting with the principal in a few days."

"Cool," Ryan turned back to his keychain.

"What kid wants to go to school?" Desiree asked.

"Him apparently," Sarah said.

"I think he associates school with safety," Derek told them. "He knew that he could escape whatever was going on at home when he was there."

"And done!" Penelope announced as she held up the finished keychain.

"Thank you," Ryan took it from her and went to show the others.

"Very cool," Derek smiled at him as he saw the green and blue beads with charms in the shape of a soccer ball and a book with block letters spelling out his name.

"Where should I put it?"

"We'll find a place," Derek told him. "So what do you want to do? That doesn't invlove going outside?"

"Game?" Ryan asked.

"As long as it's not poker," Sarah commented and Ryan smirked at her.

"Why don't we go the safe way and play Go Fish?" Fran suggested. "That way we can all play. And in a little bit, I'll make us some lunch. No arguments."

"No arguments here," Penelope smiled at her. "I love anything that you make."

After more than five rounds of Go Fish with Ryan winning the majority of the games, they were all in the kitchen eating lunch. The adults stood around as Ryan sat on one of the stools at the counter as he happily ate his grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.

"Can I have another sandwich please?" Ryan asked.

"Coming right up," Fran finished grilling a couple more on the griddle and placed them on a plate.

"Thank you," Ryan smiled at her as he started eat again.

"He has a hearty appetite," Desiree commented.

"Slow down a little," Derek told him. "The food will be here no matter what. Don't make yourself even more sick. That'll just delay you getting out of the house."

"Ok," Ryan told him as he finished another sandwich.

They all finished lunch and helped clean up the kitchen. Then they all got settled in the living room and pickedout a movie to watch. After awhile, Derek realized that Ryan wasn't watching it with them anymore. He went upstairs in search of him and found him laying on the floor of his room in his Reading Corner. His eyes were closed as a book lay on his chest and Clooney was curled up beside him.

"Come on buddy," he slowly lifted him in his arms.

"Mmm," Ryan's eyes slowly opened. "Derek?"

"You fell asleep buddy," he told him as he got him settled on the bed. "I'll lay with you for a few minutes ok?"

"Ok," he mumbled as Derek covered him and they lay down on the bed with Clooney on the floor closest to Ryan.

A little while later, the door slowly opened and a figure stood in the doorway as they smiled at the scene before them.

"I found them," Penelope whispered as Fran and the girls were passing by.

"Oh," the four of them smiled at the scene before them.

Ryan was snuggled under the comforter as he had his head resting against Derek as he clutched at him tightly. Derek was also sound asleep with his arms wrapped around Ryan in a protective manner.

"Let's leave them be," Fran pulled the door closed and the four of them walked back downstairs. "They'll be fine."

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you think? I hope you liked it. The next several chapters will deal with Ryan adjusting more with Derek. Plus I wanted to show Ryan's first holidays spent with the team. Anyway, PLZ R&R!


	20. Chapter 20: Adjustments

**AN:** Here's another update for all of you. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Adjustments**

A couple days later, Derek and Penelope were sound asleep when a shrill ring broke the quietness of the night. They both slowly sat up and searched for the source.

"It's mine," Penelope reached for her phone on the nearby night stand. "It's JJ."

"Case?" he asked her.

"JJ?" Penelope clicked on her phone. "How bad is it? I just need to run home real quick. Ok, thank you. See you in a little bit."

"You have to go in?" Derek asked her as she turned off her phone.

"For a few hours," she told him. "It's a local case. I just need to be there for the briefing and I need to do a few searches. Hotch said if it's not closed by tonight, I can work from here tomorrow."

"All right," he lay back down.

"Oh shoot," she sighed. "I was going to go with you to Ryan's appointments today."

"Hey don't worry, he'll understand. I'll ask my mom to come with me. And we'll call you when he wakes up."

"Ok," she got off the bed and started gathering her things. "Love you."

"Love you too, Baby Girl." He mumbled as he fell back asleep.

A few hours later, Ryan slowly came downstairs as Derek was getting some breakfast out for them. Ryan climbed onto a stool at the counter as Derek smiled at him.

"Sorry, no big breakfast today," he told him. "We have cereal, pop-tarts or toast."

"Pop-tarts," Ryan told him. "Where's Penelope?"

"She got called into work," Derek told him. "But it'll only be for a few hours."

"Oh,"

"But I did promise that I would call her when you got up," he took out his phone and dialed her number. "So she could talk to you."

"Hey Hot Stuff," her voice greeted him. "You guys just wake up?"

"Pretty much," he smiled. "How's work going?"

"Just waiting on a search to finish. Is Ryan there?"

"Yeah," Derek held out the phone to him and he smiled as he took it from him.

"Hi Penelope….It's ok, you had to work….Yeah….Ok….Bye…." Ryan handed the phone back to Derek.

"That was a short conversation," Derek told her.

"He's still waking up," Penelope told him. "Are you ready for later?"

"Not really," he sighed. "I have no clue what I should be asking."

"Relax, just take your mom with you. She'll know what to ask for you."

"Got it," he watched Ryan start to play around with Clooney in the living room. "I should go. We still need to eat breakfast and I need to give him his last breathing treatment."

"That's ok. My search just finished. I should get back to work."

"Talk to you soon, Baby Girl." Derek hung up the phone and smiled. "Ryan, your pop-tarts are done."

Ryan slowly walked back into the kitchen and climbed up at the counter as Derek brought him over a glass of milk. Derek sat next to him drinking some coffee and having his own pop-tarts.

"I miss Desiree and Sarah," Ryan mumbled.

Sarah and Desiree had flown back to Chicago the previous day. It was a tearful good-bye for both of them having to leave their family behind; and especially Ryan.

"I do too," Derek told him. "But they'll be back in a few weeks around the holidays. They want to hear all about your new school tonight though."

"Ok," Ryan finished his pop-tarts and Derek started to set up his breathing treatment.

* * *

About an hour later, Derek pulled into his mom's driveway and saw her waiting for him. She climbed into the car and smiled at Ryan in the back seat as Derek pulled away from the house again.

"Thanks for coming with me," Derek told her. "I have no idea what to expect."

"It's no problem. I know Penelope didn't expect to get called in. Dave tried really hard to not have her come in, but they really needed her."

"I think it's all Strauss," Derek told her.

"What is it with that woman? Doesn't she have kids of her own?"

"Yeah, but she never sees them." Derek pulled into an office complex. "And it may be jealousy. She sees all of us able to enjoy our families when she can't."

"I suppose," Fran sighed as they all climbed out of the car.

Ryan clung to Derek's hand tightly as the three of them walked into the doctor's office. Derek signed them in and took the clipboard of papers to fill out as they all went to sit down in some chairs.

"What's the matter?" Derek looked over at him.

"I don't like doctors," he said softly. "They're mean."

"This one isn't," Derek assured him. "This guy is also Jack and Henry's pediatrician. In fact, the whole team sees one of the doctor's in this building."

"Really?"

"Really."

"You'll go with me right?"

"I don't care what anyone says, you will not be alone in there. I'll be with you the whole time."

"And so will I," Fran smiled at him.

"Ok," Ryan released his grip on Derek's arm so he could finish filling out all the paperwork for Ryan.

"Ryan Atwood?" the nurse called his name and the three of them walked in the back and followed her into a room. "The doctor will be in shortly."

Derek sat on the exam table next to Ryan as Fran sat in a nearby chair. The door opened a few minutes later and the doctor came in as Ryan scooted closer to Derek.

"Agent Morgan," he shook his hand.

"Just Derek is fine," he told him. "I brought my mom along with me."

"Yes, hello again Mrs. Rossi." He smiled at her.

"Just Fran," she told him.

"And this must be Ryan," he smiled at him. "I'm Dr. Peter Reynolds. Almost everyone just calls me Dr. Pete. I've heard a lot about you."

"Hi," Ryan said softly.

"I think he's had some bad experiences with doctors," Derek told him.

"It's all right," Dr. Pete looked through the forms that Derek had filled out. "A lot of the medical history is blank, which I expected. I guess you'll just learn everything as you go."

"Pretty much," Derek nodded.

"And he had a case of pneumonia recently,"

"I just gave him his last breathing treatment this morning," Derek told him. "I do need a note saying he's well enough to go back to school. We have a meeting with his new principal later today. He's really anxious to get back."

"Absolutely," Dr. Pete took his stethoscope from around his neck and approached Ryan as he tensed. "I just need to listen to your lungs, Ryan. So when I tell you, take some deep breaths for me."

Derek held Ryan's hand as he did what was instructed. Fran watched from her chair for most of the examination. They were finally told that the exam was over and Dr. Pete led them out of the office.

"Here's the note for the school," he handed it to Derek. "Unless he gets sick or hurt, I don't need to see him until his next check-up."

"Thank you," Derek shook his hand and the three of them walked out of the building. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

"I guess," Ryan mumbled as he climbed back into the car.

"Dr. Pete is as nice as they come. Jack and Henry love him."

A little while later, Derek pulled into a parking spot at Ryan's new school and they all looked at it in awe.

"I thought you said it wasn't a private school," Fran looked at him as they all climbed out of the car.

"It's not," Derek told her.

"Then why is it so big?" Ryan asked as they started inside.

"There's a lot of kids in attendance," Derek told him. "And they have a lot of extra curriculars."

"May I help you?" they found the office and the secretary smiled at them in greeting.

"I'm Derek Morgan," he told her. " I have an appointment. I'm enrolling my son, Ryan Atwood."

"Have a seat and I'll let Principal Armstrong know that you're here," she walked into the back and the three of them sat down in some chairs.

"Derek Morgan," A tall, balding man came out to them. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Derek shook his hand. "This is my mother, Fran Rossi."

"Here for support," she shook his hand.

"And you must be Ryan," Principal Armstrong smiled down at him and he hid behind Derek. "Why don't we all go into my office and we can discuss Ryan's future here."

The three of them followed him back into his office and took some seats. Principal Armstrong went to unlock a nearby cabinet and brought out what looked like a computer box.

"Each student gets their own personal Netbook," he pushed the box in front of Ryan and he slowly took it. "Do you like computers Ryan?"

"Yes," he said softly.

"He told us that he's part computer geek," Derek spoke up.

"Not every student that attends here uses their Netbook," Principal Armstrong told them. "Since all their work is handwritten. But when you go home today, you will be sent with some information to log into Ryan's student website. When you log on, you can look ahead to his classes, how heavy his class load will be, and there will be opportunities for extra credit listed."

"Ok," Derek said slowly.

"It's a little overwhelming at first," Principal Armstrong assured them. "But once you get the hang of all this, you'll be a pro."

"I will take your word for it,"

"So the first week that Ryan attends, he will be enrolled in the required classes for his grade. Which are Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and State History. His teachers will observe him throughout the week and see which areas he excels at and which areas he needs help in. That will also give him time to think about which elective classes he wants to take."

"I believe he's interested in taking Spanish," Derek told him. "And he loves Art."

"I will make a note of that," Principal Reynolds scribbled on a sticky note. "Now all our students are dropped off and picked up by a parent or a guardian. My concern is with your high profile job whether or not you'll be able to do that consecutively."

"As of right now, I have a month off from work. It's a state requirement for all foster parents." Derek told him. "After I'm able to return to the field, yes there will be times when I can't pick him up because I'll be out of town. But my girlfriend has my permission to do so in my absence. She also works for the FBI, but she's our technical analyst, so she doesn't travel with us all the time. In the very rare event that neither of us can do it, my mom here can do it."

"Absolutely," Fran agreed.

"I believe that was my only concern," Principal Reynolds told them. "All of the paperwork is in order. So should we begin the tour?"

"Yes," they all stood up and followed the principal out of the office and started down the hall. "Green section is the elementary area, and this is the third grade section."

Ryan looked around in awe. They passed several open doors on the tour; a few classes were taking place and he got a quick glimpse inside as they passed by.

"This is the lunch room," Principal Reynolds took them inside. "Students can buy their lunch or bring their own. If Ryan plans on buying his lunch, we just need to know if he has any food allergies."

"I don't believe he does," Derek said. "There's a lot about his medical history that I don't know."

"Not a problem, we'll just keep an eye out."

A little while later, Derek placed all of the kits and supplies that Ryan would need for his classes. They all climbed into the car and Derek sighed.

"I can't believe he needs all that," Derek sighed as he looked at the crowded back seat. "He's only in the third grade."

"At least he doesn't have to lug it all to school every day. It's just extra stuff for home to help him with his work."

"Yeah," he glanced back at Ryan. "It's almost lunchtime. What do you say that we surprise Penelope at work with some sandwiches from the deli?"

"Yeah," Ryan smiled at him.

"Let me call Dave and see where they are," Fran took out her phone. "Hey honey, we were just wondering if you were free for lunch."

"We just wrapped it up,"

"Already?"

"We weren't the lead on the case. We were just helping out the local PD. They needed our help in narrowing down the suspect pool. But they just took someone into custody so we're free."

"Well Derek, Ryan and I were going to bring lunch for everyone from the deli."

"We still have some paperwork to finish up, so I'll get everyone's orders and call you back."

"Don't tell Penelope. Derek and Ryan want to surprise her."

"Got it," they hung up as Derek pulled up to the deli.

"They're done already?" Derek asked.

"Local case," she told him. "The local PD just needed their assistance."

"Well that's good news," Derek smiled at Ryan as they all walked into the deli and waited for Dave to call back.

* * *

Derek and Fran carried everyone's lunch into the building and waited for Ryan and Fran's visitor passes. Once they had them, they got into the elevator and went up to the BAU floor and found everyone in the conference room.

"Lunch!" Dave spotted them coming in.

"Thank you," Emily took her bag. "I am starving."

"Where's Penelope?" Ryan scanned the room.

"She's still in her office," Dave told him. "She's backing up her files."

"Let's go," Ryan pulled on Derek's shirt.

"Just a minute," he smiled as he took their bags and followed him out.

"He really missed Garcia," JJ commented. "How long do you think we'll have to wait before we hear some kind of announcement?"

"She practically lives with them already," Fran told them. "She just leaves every few days to get more clothes and to do laundry."

Ryan hurried and ran ahead Derek up the stairs and stopped in front of Penelope's lair. He waited for Derek to catch up and knocked on the door.

"Enter mere mortal!" her voice called out and they both laughed.

"Surprise!" Ryan announced as Derek opened the door.

"What-" she turned around shocked as Ryan ran into her arms.

"Hope you're hungry Baby Girl," Derek smiled at her.

"We brought you lunch," Ryan smiled at her. "We wanted to surprise you."

"Well I am definitely surprised," she smiled back. "What'd you bring me?"

"Your favorite," "Derek handed her the bag as they moved away from the computers and sat at the small makeshift table that she had in there.

"Tell me all about your new school," Penelope looked at Ryan. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there today. I really wanted to."

"He asked where you were as soon as he got up," Derek told her.

"It's ok, I know you were working." Ryan told her.

"Sometimes this job sucks," she told him. "Because you have to miss out on things that you really don't want to."

"Really, it's ok."

"Well no matter what, I will be there for your first day."

"Really?"

"Really," she smiled at him. "Now tell me about the school."

"It's really big…." Ryan started telling her all about his day as Derek got their lunch set up and smiled at the two of them.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. PLZ R&R!


	21. Chapter 21: Shopping Trip

**AN:** Here's the latest update for all of you. I hope you enjoy this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Shopping Trip**

On Saturday morning, Ryan was sitting at the counter eating a bowl of cereal as Derek sat next to him drinking a cup of coffee as he read the paper. Neither of them were saying anything, but every so often Derek glanced over at Ryan and smiled. Once Ryan finished his cereal he hopped off the stool and took his bowl to the sink.

"Are we doing anything today?" Ryan climbed back onto the stool and Derek gave him the comics.

"Actually, Penelope is on her way with JJ and Emily." Derek told him. "They are going to be taking you somewhere."

"Where?"

"Not telling," he smiled at him.

When Penelope walked through the door a little while later, Ryan and Derek had moved to the floor of the living room and were playing with Clooney.

"There are my boys," Penelope smiled at them.

"Hey Baby Girl," Derek smiled at her.

"Derek said you were going to take me somewhere," Ryan got up and went to her.

"I am taking you shopping," she smiled at him. "JJ, Emily and Fran are waiting outside. Along with Henry, and we talked Hotch into letting us take Jack along with us as well."

"What about Derek?"

"I have a couple projects to do here," Derek joined them. "But I will meet you there in a little while with everyone else. You need some new clothes and I am so not good with that kind of thing."

"Luckily I am," Penelope smiled at him. "But we're not just clothes shopping. We need other things as well. You need school supplies-"

"Make sure you save that for when I get there," Derek told her.

"Will do," She kissed him before leading Ryan out of the house.

Ryan climbed into the back of Esther and buckled as everyone pulled out of the driveway again. Derek waved them off and went back into the house to get started on his project.

* * *

Ryan followed close behind Penelope as she and Fran talked about what else that they needed to get for Ryan. JJ and Emily followed close behind them; to prevent Jack and Henry from attempting to run off, they had rented one of the wagons from the front entrance of the mall.

Ryan was impressed with how much they had all accumulated just within the hour that they had been there. There were a handful of nice school clothes that consisted of jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, button-up shirts and footwear. Fran took care of the uncomfortable item-collecting; underpants, as well as socks, new pajamas and another bathrobe. Then there were more footwear; running shoes for his physical education class, two pairs of Nikes for everyday, and dress shoes for special occasions.

Fran had also insisted on getting Ryan a suit; just in case, so they didn't have to try to come to the mall to buy him one if they needed one for him at the last minute.

"This is a lot," Ryan mumbled.

"Nonsense," Penelope dismissed his comment. "We're just getting started."

"This is my opportunity to spoil you," Fran added.

"Just give it up kid," Emily whispered to him.

"Those two shopping individually is bad enough," JJ told him. "But once they get together-well, you'll never win this. So don't fight it."

"He needs a couple jackets," Fran commented. "And it will be winter soon, so he's going to need a winter coat, along with some hats, gloves, scarves and some boots of course."

"Does it snow a lot here?" Ryan asked.

"Sometimes,"

"I've never seen snow up close,"

"I didn't either until I moved out here," Penelope smiled at him. "Once you get past how cold it gets, you'll love it!"

Ryan slowly followed them into the next store where they accumulated yet more clothing and footwear for him. They had so many bags that Emily had gone to go rent another wagon so they didn't have to carry it all. By mid-afternoon, their energy was starting to waver so they all stopped at the food court. Ryan sat eating his cheeseburger at a table with Jack and Henry as they all shared a big platter of fries set in the middle of the table. The rest of them sat at the table next to them as they smiled at the boys getting along so well.

* * *

Sandy and Kirsten Cohen had just finished breakfast when the doorbell rang. They went to go answer it and saw that it was Paul and Tim; each holding a file folder in their hands.

"We found some things," Tim started.

"Hold on," Sandy closed the door behind them and went to go check on Seth, who was holed up in the den. "He's still playing his video game, so let's go into my office."

The four of them filed in and Sandy shut the door firmly behind them. They all sat down with Sandy and Kirsten facing Paul and Tim.

"Well," Tim started. "This is not good news."

"How bad is it?" Sandy asked. "What did you find on Agent Morgan?"

"That's not what I meant," the private investigator shook his head. "I mean, that this is not good news for you. Derek Morgan is clean as a whistle, there's nothing incriminating about him."

"There has to be something," Kirsten pleaded.

"The only thing that raised some red flags is his juvenile record," Tim handed it over to Sandy. "He strayed a little after he witnessed his father's murder. But he got back on the straight and narrow again."

"What is all this?" Sandy started looking through the file.

"Derek Morgan in a nutshell," Paul spoke up. "He grew up in the South Side of Chicago. After his father died, he and his two sisters were raised by their single mother. He started having behavioral problems after his father's death and received a juvenile record for fighting. That record was expunged though, by a local youth center coordinator. Mr. Morgan got into football and received a full ride scholarship to Northwestern University and studied law. He blew his knee out which ended his football career. He served in the bomb squad and was an officer at the Chicago PD before joining the FBI."

"You got to give us something," Sandy demanded.

"I'm sorry, you have no case against Derek Morgan." Paul told them.

"I did find something," Tim spoke up. "Fran Rossi-that's his mom-she married David Rossi. I discovered that she made one of those family websites. To keep her daughters updated on the rest of the family since they still reside in Chicago. I was able to find someone to hack in and view the site."

"So?"

"So do you want to know current details about Ryan or not?"

"Ryan?" they all looked towards the door and saw Seth standing there.

"Seth-"

"Did you find him?" Seth looked at all of the adults. "Is he coming back?"

"We'll go," Tim stood up as Paul gathered his things.

"Word of advice," Paul looked at them. "I wouldn't try to take on Derek Morgan. He won't back down and you'll just end up hurting the kid in the process."

Sandy walked them out and joined Seth and Kirsten in the living room. He sat on the other side of Seth and pulled him close.

"We found Ryan," he started.

"So he's coming back?" his son's hopeful eyes looked up into his defeated ones and it broke his heart.

"No, he can't come back."

"Why not?"

"Because he's in Virginia now," Kirsten told him.

"But he was here first," Seth protested.

"He's living with a new family now," Kirsten teared up.

"Let's just go get him." Seth stood up.

"Son," Sandy pulled him back. "We can't."

"Ryan belongs here!" Seth stated.

"As much as we'd like to fly out and go get him, he has a new life now."

"It's not fair!"

"Honey," Kirsten started.

"No!" Seth ran from the room and stomped all the way up the stairs and they listened as he slammed his door shut.

"There's nothing we can do," Sandy sighed.

"Unless we find something out about Agent Morgan and his extended family."

"Do we really want to do that to the kid?"

"Are you giving up?"

"No, but if Ryan's happy where he is-"

"Well I'm not giving up," Kirsten stormed out of the room.

Sandy sighed as he laid his head back on the couch. These were the times that he didn't like; when his wife reminded him of his father-in-law.

* * *

They had all just finished lunch when they ran into all the guys just arriving at the mall. Derek smiled as Ryan ran to him once he spotted him and picked him up as he greeted Penelope with a deep kiss.

"If you're going to do that, put me down." Ryan commented.

"Sorry kid," Derek pulled away as he spotted all the bags in the spare wagon. "Did you get him enough?"

"Probably not," Fran told him, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Hey!" Penelope smacked him. "He needs this stuff."

"Did you get him anything just for fun yet?" Derek finally set Ryan down.

"Not yet,"

"How about we let him pick out something that he wants after we get all his school supplies?"

"Sounds like a plan Hot Stuff." She smiled at him.

Derek, Penelope and Ryan went into a nearby store as everyone else went off to do their own thing. Penelope started scanning the aisles for all the supplies that was on the list that was sent home with Derek.

"Heavy-duty book bag," Derek read off. "I'll say, with all the stuff that I was sent home with."

"He doesn't have to lug it all back and forth," she told him.

"This one," Ryan pulled a blue and gray book bag from the rack.

"That's perfect actually," Penelope opened it. "It has a special compartment so that he can secure his Netbook."

"And let's see," Derek scanned the list. "Two one inch 3-ring binders…four folders, different colors…four composition notebooks…index cards…two packs of no. 2 pencils, not mechanical…four yellow highlighters…one pack of wide-ruled notebook paper…and why does he need a pair of ear buds?"

"For the Netbook," Penelope shrugged. "Probably so he doesn't distract the other kids when he's working on it."

"I guess," Derek placed a lunch bag on the top of the supplies. "Are we ready to check out?"

"I believe so," Penelope followed Derek to the counter.

"Why don't you two go find something that Ryan would like while I pay for all this," Derek told them.

"Come on Ryan," Penelope led him out. "There are still a few stores that we haven't been to yet."

Ryan followed behind Penelope as she walked into a few random stores. They scanned the items for a few minutes before walking back out. Nothing seemed to pique Ryan's interest until they were walking back to meet up with the others. Penelope turned around when she realized that Ryan wasn't walking beside her and saw him walking into a nearby store. She caught up to him as a sales clerk was showing him around.

"I don't know if Derek will like this," Penelope told him.

"He said anything I wanted," Ryan told her.

"Do you know how to play?"

"I used to,"

"We offer lessons here," the sales clerk told her.

"And I think they have a class at my new school," Ryan said.

"You really want this?" she looked at him and he nodded. "All right, but we need a case….."

After the big purchase, Penelope left Ryan with the others and went in search of Derek. She found him in front of the movie theatre looking at all the movie posters.

"Hey," he spotted her walking up to him. "Do you think Ryan likes the Avengers?"

"Maybe," she kissed his cheek. "So don't be mad."

"Why would I be mad?" he looked at her as they started to walk back to the group.

"I bought Ryan something. He said that he really wanted it."

"Good," he smiled at her.

"Hold that thought," she pointed as they got back to the group.

Derek turned to look and saw Ryan balancing an acoustic guitar on his lap as he sat on a bench. He was strumming the strings with a pick as Jack and Henry stared in awe at the new gift.

"Baby-"

"He said he played before," Penelope interrupted him. "The sales clerk said they offer lessons at the store, and Ryan said there's a music class at school."

"Yeah, his eyes lit up when we were shown the music room."

"He said he really wanted it,"

"Fine," Derek walked over to Ryan and he froze.

"You're not making me take it back are you?" Ryan asked softly.

"Not if this is something that you really want."

"I really do."

"Then you can keep it," Derek told him and he smiled at him.

"Thank you," Ryan hugged him.

"But right now, we need to take all this to the car and lock it up." Derek told everyone. "I thought we could all take the kids to see the new Avengers movie."

"Yeah!" Jack announced.

Everyone helped them take everything out to the parking lot and loaded it all into the trunk of Derek's car as well as the back seat. He locked up the car again and they all walked back inside and towards the movie theatre. They all waited in line as they got all the popcorn and movie snacks. Ryan, Jack and Henry each got a kid pack to enjoy; which consisted of a fold-out box that held their popcorn, drink and candy of their choice. The big group started into the theatre and tried to find an area that would fit all of them.

"Can we sit with you Spencer?" Ryan looked at him.

"Absolutely," he smiled at him as they found some seats and the three boys followed behind Reid.

"I'll allow this," Derek looked back at them. "But I don't want to hear any talking out of you during the movie, Pretty Boy."

"So that means I can talk during the movie?" Ryan asked. "And Jack and Henry can too?"

"Just let me actually be able to know what this movie is about when we walk out of here," Derek smiled at him and he turned back around as the lights dimmed and the previews started.

"We should try to bring him to see a movie at least once a month," Derek said.

"I like that idea," Penelope smiled at him as she took the big bag of popcorn from him. "I get to hold this."

Throughout the movie, Jack and Henry could be heard talking and giggling as Ryan kept shushing them. The adults would keep giving them warnings, but smiled once they turned back to the movie. They all filed out of the theatre after the movie ended as they saw that it was starting to get dark out.

"Quick," JJ rushed up to Derek and Penelope. "Hotch just volunteered to have the boys sleep over at his place so the parents can have a date night. We need to get back home, pack them overnight bags and drop them off before he realizes what he just signed up for and changes his mind."

"Date night?" Derek looked at Penelope. "I can make reservations at your favorite restaurant."

"Let's do it," she smiled at him as Ryan caught up to them. "Hey buddy, good news. Hotch says you can have a sleepover at his house with Jack and Henry."

"Really?"

"Absolutely,"

"Can I take my new guitar?"

"I guess that's up to Hotch," Derek told him.

"What is?" Hotch approached them.

"Ryan wants to take his new guitar to the sleepover,"

"Fine with me," he smiled at Ryan.

"Cool," Ryan ran over to Jack.

"You really have no idea what you just signed on for," Derek looked at his boss.

"Not to worry," Emily came up to them. "I volunteered to help him tonight."

"Only because Jack wants you to come over," Hotch looked at her.

"Well good luck to you both," Penelope smiled. "We should go get Ryan's overnight bag packed."

"We'll see you in a little bit." Derek told him as they pulled Ryan away from Jack as everyone started out towards the parking lot.

* * *

Derek unlocked the door to his place and led Penelope back inside before locking the door behind them. They had dropped off Ryan at Hotch's hours ago, and he was excited to have a sleepover with his friends. Derek and Penelope had just had a romantic evening at their favorite restaurant and then taken a walk along the river before finally deciding to call it a night.

"This was a very good night," Penelope kissed him deeply on the lips, catching him off-guard.

"Wow," he breathed after they finally pulled apart. "I would really like to continue this, but I want to show you something first."

"And what is that?" she smiled at him.

"Come on," he started to lead her upstairs. "Remember that project that I had to work on today?"

"Yeah," she followed him into the master bedroom.

"Well I made some changes," Derek opened his closet and she saw all his clothes pushed to one side as there were some markings on the wall. "And there's more."

He took her to his dresser and showed her the top two empty drawers. Then he took her to his bathroom and she saw the empty space where his bathroom supplies usually were.

"What is all this?" she looked at him.

"It means that I want to take the next step with you,"

"Derek-"

"I know you don't want to go too fast," he told her. "But if you ever wanted to keep some of your things here, I wouldn't mind. And also…."

She watched as he pulled a velvet ring box out of his pocket and opened it.

"Wait," she started.

"It's not what you think it is," he showed her the gold band with the heart shape on top. "It's a kind of promise ring, but not that kind of promise ring."

"What do you mean?"

"This is a promise that I want more with you in the future. It means that I'm willing to wait as long as it takes to make you a part of my family. If I have to wait forever then I will."

"You'd really do that for me?" she asked softly.

"This is it for me, Baby Girl." He kissed her deeply. "I am willing to wait-"

"I love you," she interrupted him.

"I love you too," he smiled at her.

"Thank you for being so understanding."

"Thank you for giving me a chance to make you happy," he smiled as she pushed him back on the bed. "Even more happy."

"Shut up and enjoy this Handsome,"

"As you wish Princess," he smiled as their clothing was shed and she started to pepper him with kisses along his neck.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!

I'm not sure if I'll be able to post something before Christmas next week. Just in case I'm not able to, I hope everyone enjoys whatever holiday they celebrate.


	22. Chapter 22: More Family Time

**AN:** Another update for all of you just in time for Christmas. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 22: More Family Time**

Late the next morning, Derek and Penelope pulled up to Hotch's place right behind JJ and Will. They all got out of their cars and approached the front door as JJ smiled back at Derek and Penelope.

"Long night?" she looked at Penelope knowingly.

"Maybe," she smiled back at her. "We'll talk later."

"Hey," Hotch finally pulled open his door still in his pajamas. "Come on in."

"How'd it go?" Will asked as they all filed in.

"We all fell asleep late so the boys just woke up about ten minutes ago," Hotch led them all into the kitchen. "So I'm just starting to make us all some breakfast."

"You better plan on making more then if you want us to join you," Derek told him.

"I am," Hotch turned on the stove as he got a carton of eggs out.

"So where are all the boys?" Penelope asked as they all sat down at the table.

"Emily is helping them to get dressed," Hotch glanced over at them. "By the way Morgan, I think you may have a musical prodigy on your hands."

"What are you talking about?" Derek looked at him.

"Ryan was showing Jack and Henry all the different chords on his guitar last night. I may not know anything about music, but I think it was all accurate."

"He said he played before."

"Well unless he has a memory like Reid's…."

"Derek!" They looked and saw Ryan running down the hall followed closely behind by Jack and Henry.

"Hey buddy," Derek smiled at him as he picked him up. "Did you have fun at your first sleepover last night?"

"We had popcorn and watched all the Madagascar movies." Ryan told him.

"There was a marathon on TV last night," Emily told them as she came into them.

"Guys watch the kids," JJ said suddenly as she started to pull Penelope and Emily out of the room. "We need some girl time."

"Do they do that a lot?" Ryan looked at everyone as the three girls disappeared down the hall.

"Yes," Hotch responded.

"Most of the time we have no idea why," Will added.

"Can I help?" Ryan slid off of Derek's lap and went to Hotch.

"I have this handled," Hotch looked down at him. "Why don't you show Derek what you learned on your guitar?"

"Yeah, I hear you can play really well." Derek said.

"I was just trying to find the right chords," Ryan shrugged.

"Well I want to hear," Derek told him. "If I'm going to be the parent of a rockstar."

"Rockstar?" Ryan looked at him.

"Hey the true star of every great band that's out there is the guitar player."

"They do get the solos," Will added.

"Come on, I want to hear you play." Derek said.

"Ok," Ryan went to where his things were and opened up the guitar case.

* * *

Emily and Penelope looked at JJ strangely as she pushed them into the guestroom at the end of the hall.

"What is going on?" Emily asked her.

"Start explaining about that ring on your finger, Garcia." JJ stated.

"What?" Emily gasped as she looked at Penelope. "Is that an engagement ring?"

"No," Penelope shook her head. "It's a promise ring."

"Excuse me?"

"Not that kind of promise ring," Penelope told them. "Believe me, that was my first reaction too."

"Ok, so what promise is Derek making to you?" JJ asked her.

"It's his promise that this is the last stop for him. That he wants a future with me and that he will wait as long as I want."

"So you guys are really getting serious?"

"He made room for my things at his place,"

"As in you're moving in?"

"Not quite ready for that. He made room in his closet, cleared out two of his dresser drawers, and made room in his bathroom for my stuff."

"So you're moving in without actually moving in?" Emily asked.

"I guess. He said that if I wanted to keep my things at his house, that he wouldn't mind at all."

"So what's going to happen?"

"We are going to continue to take this slow,"

"PG," JJ sighed. "What are you so afraid of?"

"What?"

"You always do this," Emily told her. "You go out with a guy a few times, and just when it starts getting serious you pull away."

"We always thought that it was because of your hidden feelings for Derek, but that was only part of it wasn't it?" JJ added.

"Look I'm allowed to keep a few things to myself," Penelope told them.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you don't know everything about me, and don't start trying to profile me either."

"We would never do that with you."

"And besides, it has to do with Ryan too."

"What about Ryan?" JJ asked.

"That kid has a stable surrounding for the first time ever. I'm not going to take a major step with Derek and have something happen and end that stability. He's not the only one who gets attached."

"PG…."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Penelope stood up as they heard music coming from down the hall.

"I think Ryan is playing his guitar," Emily stood up. "Come on, you have to see this. The kid is a natural."

The three of them walked out of the room and back into the kitchen. They found Will setting some plates out as Ryan sat on the bench in front of the long table as Derek sat next to him with Jack and Henry.

"This is A Minor," Ryan struck one of the chords. "And this is G Sharp."

"I will take your word for it kid," Derek smiled at him. "I know nothing about music. Well playing it anyway."

"I can teach you," Ryan said.

"How about tomorrow while you're in school, I call up the music store and see if I can sign you up for lessons?"

"Yeah," Ryan smiled.

"Breakfast is served!" Hotch announced. "Well technically since it's afternoon now, I guess we can call it brunch."

"Ooh omelets," Penelope smiled as all the plates were set out at the table.

"And I have toast and bacon as well."

"So how do you know so much about music Ryan?" Will asked.

"I don't," he said. "I can't play."

"Well you told me that you did before," Penelope said. "Where'd you learn?"

"At this community center in Chino," he said softly. "They actually called it a family center. They offered all kinds of classes for free and music was one of them. The instructor said I had an ear for music and that I could be a great player if I wanted to, but I never found out."

"Well you will now," Derek told him.

* * *

They all stayed at Hotch's for a few more hours until Derek realized that they still needed to get everything ready for Ryan's first day of school the next day. So they all gathered up all their things and headed back to their homes.

Derek and Penelope set about getting all the school supplies out of their packages and packing them up in Ryan's new book bag. Ryan decided to get out his Netbook and set it up.

"Derek!" Ryan called from living room where he had set up the Netbook on the coffee table as he had the cord running to the nearest outlet so that it would be charged before he went to school.

"What's the matter buddy?" Derek came into him.

"I need the temporary password," he told him. "It won't let me open up any of the programs without it."

"Here," Penelope came in with it. "It was included in the welcome packet that the principal gave you."

"Thanks," Derek smiled at her as he started typing. "Wait, there's two passwords."

"One is for Ryan's student page," Penelope told him. "The other is for your parent page."

"Right,"

"And the passwords are case sensitive," she added.

"Ok," Derek finished typing. "Here we go."

"That's a lot," Ryan saw his schedule pop up.

"You don't have that everyday," Derek told him as he clicked on a box. "See this is just tomorrow."

"That's still a lot, and I'm going to be coming in the middle of the lessons."

"I'm sure you'll catch up in no time."

"You'll be fine," Penelope encouraged him.

"I think it's time you start getting ready for bed," Derek told him. "You have a big day tomorrow."

"Ok,"

"I'll be up in about ten minutes to check on you." Ryan nodded as he slowly started upstairs. "The kid is a nervous wreck."

"He'll be fine once he starts his classes and sees that it's not so scary." Penelope told him and he just looked at her. "Give it a couple of days at least."

"Right," Derek sighed.

Derek walked into Ryan's bedroom a little while later and saw him sitting on his bed fresh from his shower. He was reading one of his books as he waited for Derek to come and join him.

"How's it going in here?" Derek sat beside him.

"Ok," Ryan shrugged

"You're nervous about tomorrow aren't you?"

"Yeah," he said softly.

"It will be all right," Derek assured him. "All those other kids are like you. They all come from different backgrounds, but there's a reason that they're going to this school just like you."

"Ok," Ryan put his book down as Derek got settled beside him and started reading to him.

Penelope came in as Derek finished reading the latest chapter of Harry Potter. She went to the bed and kissed Ryan's forehead as he lay down and Derek pulled the covers up over him more.

"Good night," Derek smiled at him.

"We'll see you in the morning," Penelope added.

"Good night," he said softly as Clooney came into the room and lay down on the floor by his bedside.

"That dog sure is protective of him," Penelope said as they walked out of his room.

"I prefer it that way," Derek said as they reached downstairs and he opened up the Netbook again. "I need to set up my parent account on here."

"Let me help," Penelope handed him the temporary password and he typed it in. "It says that you have two alerts."

"Let's see," Derek clicked on one of the messages. "One of them is about picture retakes on Wednesday. I guess that would be just picture day for Ryan."

"You need to order some," she told him. "Everyone will want at least a wallet size of him."

"The order form is attached. I'll decide what I want tomorrow." Derek clicked on the other message. "And their Fall Festival is Friday. Each class is having a party with snacks and games."

"Fall Festival?"

"I guess it's their version of Halloween," he told her.

"Do they get to wear costumes at least?"

"Nope, it's just a party with some games."

"Well that's lame. Schools have definitely changed."

"Are we taking him Trick-Or-Treating?" he looked at her. "I mean, he hasn't said anything about it. I used to bug my mom for weeks about finding the perfect costume when I was little."

"He's still getting settled in. Maybe he forgot that it's coming up."

"I'll ask him what he wants to go as,"

"And I'll try to come up with the perfect costume for him," she smiled at him. "We should get to bed right now though. We have to get up early so that we can send Ryan off on his first day at his new school."

"So that means that you're going to be staying the night then?" he smiled at her.

"Absolutely," she smiled back. "I brought my overnight bag."

"I'll meet you upstairs then," he told her as he started upstairs and she went to get her bag that she had left by the door.

A little while later, Derek smiled as he lay in bed with Penelope. She was almost asleep as she had her head resting on his bare chest. He started to run his fingers through her hair and she snuggled into him more.

"I love you Baby Girl." He whispered into the stillness.

"I love you too Hot Stuff." She mumbled and he smiled as they both slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you think? How will Ryan's first day of school go? Is Penelope hiding something from the others? PLZ R&R!


	23. Chapter 23: School Time

**AN:** So another update for you guys just before the New Year! I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 23: School Time**

Derek groaned as his alarm went off very early one morning. He felt movement next to him and could just make out Penelope slowly sitting up and stretching.

"Too early," he mumbled as he hit the snooze button.

"Sorry Mister, not today." She turned off the alarm and started to pull him out of bed with her. "It's Ryan's first day of school. He's nervous enough as it is. We don't need him being late on his first day at his new school."

"The downfall of parenting," he sighed. "We have to get up early with him."

"We've gotten up earlier than this for work," she told him.

"Being on this break has spoiled me. I've gotten used to sleeping in."

"Come on," they walked out of the master bedroom and went into Ryan's room.

Penelope flipped on the overhead light and smiled as Ryan pulled his blanket over his head and tried to burrow underneath his pillow.

"Two of a kind," she smiled as she pulled the covers off of him. "Come on buddy. You don't want to be late."

"Says who?" Ryan mumbled as he slowly sat up.

"I know you're nervous," Derek went to him. "But you're going to be fine."

"I'll go down and get breakfast ready for us," Penelope told them.

"I just want Captain Crunch," Ryan told her.

"Sorry, today is a big day. So I'll fix us all something good."

"I'm not that hungry," Ryan said as Penelope started downstairs.

"It's just nerves," Derek told him as he went to the dresser to get an outfit for Ryan out. "And we want to make a big deal about this because we've never gone through a first day of school before."

"It's no big deal,"

"Maybe not to you, but it is to us. So try to humor us today."

"Fine," Ryan took the outfit from Derek and went into his bathroom to get ready as Derek started downstairs to help Penelope.

When Ryan finally came downstairs, Penelope was setting three plates out on the table as Derek was getting the Netbook with the charger into Ryan's bookbag. Derek smiled at him as he brought Ryan's book bag into the kitchen and spotted him wearing a pair of khakis and a dark blue shirt underneath a button-up polo shirt.

"Come on and eat up," Penelope smiled at them.

They all sat down at the table and Ryan slowly picked at his food as Penelope tried to get him engaged in conversation. After finally giving up on him giving more than one-word answers, they all cleared the table and loaded up the dishwasher. Derek brought Clooney back in from the backyard and started to make Ryan's lunch.

"Turkey and swiss?" Derek asked and Ryan nodded as he chose what all he wanted in his lunch. "What all do you got in there?"

"I have a bag of chips, a fruit rollup, a little debbie, and a caprisun."

"Do you think that's enough?" Derek got the sandwich container in the lunch bag and closed it up.

"Yep," Ryan nodded.

"Then grab your bag. It's time to go."

"Wait," Penelope picked up her phone. "We need to get pictures."

"Baby Girl," he sighed.

"Would you rather deal with your mom's wrath for a week because we didn't take any pictures for her?"

"We'd better take the picture," Ryan said.

"See, even he knows."

"All right," Derek relented and let her snap a few photos.

Not only did she get several individual photos of Ryan, but she also got some of Ryan with Derek as well as making Derek take pictures of her with Ryan.

"All right, I think we have enough." Derek looked at her as he handed her phone back to her. "We need to get him to school."

"Fine," they all walked outside and climbed into Derek's car.

The whole way there Ryan stayed silent as he sat in the back seat just staring out the window at the scenery as it passed by. Derek and Penelope tried to engage him into their conversation, but he was having none of it. Derek pulled upto the school and parked in an empty spot near the front entrance.

"Everything will be fine today kid," Derek told him one last time before they all climbed out of the car.

"I have some bad experiences at school," Ryan said suddenly.

"Who doesn't?" Penelope mumbled. "But that won't happen to you here."

"We need to check in at the office," Derek told them. "I think someone is supposed to show you around today."

"Am I being forced to hang around with another student all day?" Ryan mumbled.

"You might have to," Derek told him.

"You'll just have to make the best of it," Penelope added as the three of them walked into the school. "Fran was right, this is fancy."

"He likes it already though," Derek told her as they walked into the office.

"Derek Morgan?" a lady was there to greet the three of them. "My name is Allison O'Brien, I'm the student advisor here."

"Nice to meet you," he smiled politely at her as he shook her hand. "This is my girlfriend, Penelope Garcia."

"It's good to meet the both of you," she shook Penelope's hand as well as she saw Ryan clinging to Derek's side. "And you must be Ryan. I'll be showing you around today."

"Hi," he said softly as they heard a bell go off.

"That's the warning bell," Miss O'Brien told them. "We have about five more minutes before the first class starts."

"We're have to go now," Derek knelt down in front of Ryan. "You just have fun today and try to make at least one friend today."

"What if they don't like me?" he asked softly.

"You just be you and they'll have no choice but to like you." Penelope told him.

"Ok," Ryan turned to Miss O'Brien, who was waiting near the office door for him.

"Come on," she smiled at him. "You have Language Arts first. You brought your Netbook and your earbuds right?"

"Yes," Ryan nodded.

"We'll see you at three-thirty sharp right outside," Derek told him and he nodded as they all walked out.

"You know, you have to let me in eventually," Derek said suddenly as he and Penelope climbed back into the car.

"What are you talking about?" she looked over at him.

"Do you really think that I don't hear all those little comments about your former life?" he looked back at her. "I understand that you may have had a difficult life before you came out here-"

"Derek-" she tried to stop him from talking about it anymore.

"This isn't me pressuring you to talk," he assured her. "This is me telling you that I'm here when you feel ready to talk about it."

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You are welcome Baby Girl," he leaned over to give her a kiss before starting up the car.

"So we have eight hours to kill," Penelope told him as they pulled away from the school. "What should we do?"

"Well…."

"As much as I would love to do that extracurricular activity," she smiled over at him. "We don't want to be late picking up Ryan and time always seems to get away from us. Besides, Dave said to keep my phone within listening distance today. They might have a new case."

"Fine, we'll think of something I'm sure."

"That reminds me," she took out her phone. "I should probably send these pictures to your mom. She'll want to get them on the website for Sarah and Desiree as soon as possible."

"Probably," they pulled back up to the house and started inside.

They walked inside and realized that they needed to finish cleaning up the kitchen from the morning. Derek loaded the rest of the dishes into the dishwasher before letting Clooney out again as Penelope finished sending all the pictures to Fran. She put her phone away again as she felt two arms wrap around her and smiled as he nuzzled her neck.

"Ok, no fair." She moaned. "I can't be distracted, and this is definitely distracting."

"You're distracting me," he turned her around and covered her mouth with his own as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

* * *

By lunchtime, Ryan was positive of one thing: He loved his new school. All the teachers were patient and kind with all of the students. If anyone had a problem with their work, they had no problem working with them individually until they figured it out. The Netbook was mandatory for every class. If you finished all your class work before everyone else, you were allowed to work on the extra credit on the school website.

All of the students were nice as well. They didn't make fun of each other for being too far behind or being a know-it-all. Some of them even helped out the struggling students right in the middle of a lesson; and the teachers had no problem with it as long as it didn't disrupt the class.

Ryan was thankful that Miss O'Brien didn't follow him into each of his classes, which he was worried that she was going to. She was always waiting outside of his classes after they ended however, so that she could show him where his next class was. As they walked, she pointed out several different classrooms where he would be for some of the elective classes when he decided what he wanted to take.

Ryan walked into the cafeteria and scanned the room for a place to sit. There were no cliques; no popular table or geek table. Even so, he was still the new kid. So it's not like anyone was real eager to make room for him at their table. He finally found an empty table and sat down as he opened up his lunch bag.

"Being the new kid is the worst," a boy about his age plopped down in the seat across from him. "The name's Malachi."

"Uh, hi." Ryan turned startled eyes towards him.

Malachi was about average height for their age with shaggy black hair that stuck up in all directions. He had piercing green eyes that seemed to see into your soul. His whole personality screamed 'unkempt' but it didn't seem to faze him what the other kids thought of him one bit.

"I was the new kid six months ago," Malachi told him. "Don't worry about the other kids. They'll start talking when you do."

"I don't like to talk," Ryan mumbled. "Safer that way."

"There you are Chi," another boy plopped down beside him. "Who's this?"

"I'm not sure about his name," Malachi told the new boy. "He's new though."

"That's obvious since I haven't seen him before," Ryan smiled at the sarcasm that dripped out of the other boy.

"Ryan," he said softly.

"I'm Keaton," the other boy told him.

Keaton was the complete opposite of Malachi. He was a little smaller for his age with bright red spiked hair. His eyes seemed to be a dark grey color and continued to stare Ryan down. He reminded him a bit of Seth Cohen; only his sarcasm didn't seem to get him into trouble like it did Seth.

"Keaton was the new kid three months ago," Malachi told him.

"So what are you into?" Keaton asked.

"Huh?" Ryan was confused about what he was asking him.

"Sports, activities,"

"I was in soccer," Ryan told him. "And I like to draw."

"So are you going to be in Art then?"

"Miss O'Brien says that's one of my 'sample' classes today. To see if I want it as one of my electives."

"Which period?"

"Sixth,"

"Me too," Keaton smiled at him. "So at least you'll know somebody."

"Cool," Ryan mumbled as they finished their lunches in silence and went off to their next class when the bell rang.

* * *

Derek grumbled in frustration as he heard Penelope's phone go off when he started to lead her up the stairs to continue their 'extracurricular activities'.

"Damn," Penelope sighed as her phone went off again and he regrettably pulled away from her. "It's Dave."

"Am I interrupting anything?" A gentle chuckle greeted her on the other end.

"Everything is fine Dave," she rolled her eyes and Derek smiled. "Is everything all right? Is there a case?"

"There's no case, but Fran and I are on the way over."

"Why? What's going on?"

"We're not sure yet, but Fran noticed something when she was trying to upload the pictures of Ryan onto the website a little bit ago. You're the only person who can figure this out."

"Come on over," she sighed.

"We're already two blocks away," Penelope hung up and went to her laptop bag as she explained what was going on to Derek.

"So the website was hacked or something?" he asked her.

"Possibly," she told him as she set up her laptop on the counter just as the door opened and Fran and Dave came in.

"I'm probably paranoid," Fran told them. "I blame you for making me this way."

"What did we do?" Derek asked as she went to where Penelope was.

"You and Dave are constantly talking about your cases when you get back from them. I think once the case is over, you should never talk about it again."

"I'm with you on that Fran," Penelope told her as she loaded the website and started typing away. "Once a case is closed, it should stay closed."

"All those cases about the child abductors and pedophiles," Fran started to rant. "It all just makes me a little paranoid now that we have Ryan."

"Ma, calm down." Derek interrupted her.

"Good luck," Dave told him. "I tried-"

"Wait," Penelope said suddenly. "I found something."

"What?" Derek went to her. "What'd you find?"

"See this code at the bottom here?" she outlined an area.

"Yeah, what is it?" Dave asked.

"Someone is definitely trying to hack in," she told them. "The question is who."

"Can you find out?" Derek asked. "Track their IP Adress or something?"

"Already on it Sugar," Penelope smiled at him. "I should have the results in about ten minutes."

"It's starting already," Derek sighed. "I figured that it wouldn't start until I got back to work and had to look at all the case files again."

"What are you talking about?" Fran asked.

"The same paranoia that you're experiencing," he told her. "With every case, am I going to see Ryan in every child victim's face-"

"You need to shut that off right now," Dave told him. "We all do. There's danger lurking all over the place. You just have to trust in your new parenting ability and Ryan's innate sixth sense about things."

"He's right," Penelope told him as the doorbell rang and Dave went to go see who it was. "And I have the search results back."

"And what'd you find?" Derek asked her.

"Yes, who is hacking in to our secure family website?" Fran asked.

"Uh Derek, you have a visitor." Dave came back into them.

"Sorry to interrupt," she told them.

"Gloria?" Derek looked at Ryan's social worker. "Is everything ok?"

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!

I promise that I am still working on Abduction. It's just a little hard to write at the moment. I am not giving up on it though! Stay tuned for the next chapter.

HAPPY EARLY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!


	24. Chapter 24: Good News, Bad News?

**AN:** HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE! Here's another update for all of you. I hope you like this chapter. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 24: Good News, Bad News?**

"I didn't think you'd be here for the follow-up home study for another couple of weeks," Derek looked at Ryan's social worker.

"I'm not here because of the home study," Gloria told them. "I have some news that may affect the adoption. Is Ryan here?"

"No, it's his first day at his new school." Derek told her.

"Good, I don't want him overhearing any of this. Can we all sit down?"

"Sure," they all moved to the table in the kitchen as Gloria opened up her briefcase. "First, I don't want you to worry."

"Too late for that," Penelope spoke up. "What is going on?"

"I found out something that may affect your adoption process," Gloria pushed some documents towards Derek and he glanced down at them.

"The Cohen's?" he looked back at her. "After nothing all the months that Ryan was out here?"

"They've been looking for him the moment they discovered he was gone," Gloria explained to them. "They didn't know that Ryan was out here until you filed the appeal to terminate Frank and Dawn Atwood's parental rights."

"So what does that mean for me?" Derek asked softly.

"The good news is that since Ryan showed up here, he has been a ward of the State of Virginia. As of this moment, the Cohen's have no jurisdiction to try to remove him from your care."

"But?" Dave spoke up.

"But Mrs. Cohen's father is a very powerful man in that town."

"He wouldn't help his daughter take Ryan away from us," Derek spoke up. "If anything, he'll do everything in his power to make sure that Ryan stays far away from his town."

"What do you mean?" Gloria looked at him.

"After we found out Ryan's real name, I was taking with him. Ryan told me that Caleb Nichol is a big part of why he ran away. He basically told him that he didn't want his 'dirty blood' tainting his family line."

"Did Ryan tell you anything more like that?" Gloria took out a legal pad and started scribbling.

"He had run-ins with the Cohen's neighbor, Julie Cooper…." Derek told the social worker everything that Ryan told him about living in Newport as she wrote it all down. "And all those fancy parties they dragged him and their son off to-they both hated them."

"This is good," Gloria told them. "This will definitely build a case in support of keeping Ryan with you."

"So any suggestions on what to do?"

"Just keep doing what you're doing," she told them all. "Make sure Ryan goes to school regularly, make sure you pick him up and drop him off on time, get him involved in things that he enjoys, continue to take him on family outings. And I would suggest getting him into counseling as well."

"Counseling?" Fran asked.

"He's had a hard life until now," Gloria told them. "Both of his parents being arrested, being in that house during the drug bust. It will help him to talk to someone about everything."

"There is something else," Penelope spoke up. "Before you got here, we discovered that someone was hacking into the secure family website that Fran set up. I was able to track down who was doing it."

"And what'd you find out?"

"She didn't have a chance to tell us before you arrived," Fran said.

"I tracked the IP Address and found that it belonged to a Travis McNeil. He works for a private investigators firm out of Newport." Penelope told them all.

"Which means the Cohen's have most likely seen the website."

"I was going to shut it down," Penelope told them. "And make a whole new one with all the pictures and information transferred. I'd just set up a firewall where I would get alerts every time anyone who isn't approved for the website tried to log in."

"I would do that," Gloria told them. "I will keep you informed about everything the moment I hear it."

"Thank you," Dave walked her to the door as Derek lay his head down on the table in front of him.

"This can't be happening," Derek mumbled. "I just got him. They can't take him away from me."

"They won't do that," Penelope rubbed his back. "Gloria said that they have no jurisdiction since he lives here now."

"What will his reaction be when I tell him what's going on?" Derek sat up again.

"Why do you have to tell him?" Fran asked as Dave came back into them.

"I promised him that I would be honest with him about everything," Derek looked at all of them. "I also told him that I wouldn't break a promise to him."

"You don't have to break a promise," Penelope assured him. "Just don't tell him right away. Give it a couple of days."

"Why don't you talk to Hotch," Dave suggested. "He was a lawyer. He may not have practiced Family Law, but he still might be able to help you."

"Maybe,"

"Call him now," Penelope told him. "While I set up the new family website."

"Yeah, ok," Derek took out his phone and walked into the living room.

"I don't know who will take the news worse," Fran said. "Him or Ryan."

"They're both going to be unbearable for awhile." Penelope went back to her laptop and started typing. "So with this new website, anytime anyone tries to login they will need a username and password. Anyone who tries to login will need to be approved by the website administrator which will have to be me because I'm the one that needs to set up the firewall."

"Fine with me," Fran smiled at her as they set to work getting the new website set up and transferring all the files.

* * *

Sandy Cohen sat at his desk as he scrolled through the website that Ryan's new family had set up. He saw the smiling face of Ryan in each picture, the smile getting bigger and bigger as he kept scrolling. He heard his office door creak open and saw the unruly hair before he saw Seth come into full view.

"Dad?" Seth asked timidly.

"Son," he said slowly.

"Is mom at work?"

"Yeah, she left early this morning." He sighed.

Kirsten had been avoiding him ever since their big fight the night before. When he told her that it would be better for Ryan's overall happiness if they just dropped the appeal to remove Ryan from his current residence.

"Can we talk?" Seth asked softly.

"Of course," Sandy turned off his computer and picked Seth up to sit on his desk in front of him. "What's on your mind?"

"I heard you and mom fighting last night,"

"I'm sorry about that," Sandy sighed. "I hope we didn't scare you."

"No," Seth shook his head. "It's just-is what you said true? Is Ryan happier with his new family?"

"Let me show you something," Sandy placed Seth on his lap as he turned his computer back on again. "This is a website that was set up by his new family. If we scroll down to the bottom here…."

"He likes sports," Seth saw him in a picture playing basketball. "Is that his new dad?"

"That is Derek Morgan, he is an agent with the FBI,"

"That's kind of cool,"

"Let's see," Sandy scrolled down. "That is Derek's mom and step-dad."

"So Ryan's new grandparents?"

"And this is Derek's girlfriend. She also works with the FBI, but she works behind the scenes on the computer…." Sandy kept scrolling as they saw more pictures.

"We never did any of that," Seth said suddenly.

"What?" Sandy looked down at him. "What didn't we do?"

"We never showed Ryan around Newport," he said. "We never took him to the zoo or museums. We never asked what he wanted to do. The only times we went out was because we had to go to one of those lame parties that mom made us go to."

"I know,"

"He really does look happy in these pictures," Seth said softly.

"Yes he does," Sandy sighed. "Have you ever heard the expression, 'If you love something, set it free.'?"

"Yeah," Seth turned back to the computer. "It means that Ryan should stay with his new family because he's really happy."

"That's what your mom and I were arguing about last night."

"Mom's not going to let this go is she?"

"Probably not," Sandy sighed.

"Well she should," Seth said.

"What's going on?" they both looked up to see Kirsten standing in the doorway.

"We're looking at pictures of Ryan," Seth stated.

"What?"

"His new family has a website,"

"Sandy, how could you?"

"He heard us fighting last night," he told her. "He asked if Ryan was happier now. So I decided to show him pictures of Ryan."

"That's not where Ryan belongs-"

"If you love something, set it free." Seth looked at her.

"What?"

"Ryan looks happier with his new family. Why would you want to take away someone's happiness?"

"The only reason he's there is because he ran away-"

"Because he wasn't happy here," Seth climbed off his dad's lap. "If we make him come back and live with us, he'll just be miserable."

Kirsten was left speechless as Seth left the room, stating that he would be up in his room writing a letter to Ryan.

"How could you do that?" Kirsten demanded her husband. "How could you undermine me like that with Seth?"

"He heard us fighting last night," Sandy told her again. "So I showed him pictures of Ryan living with his new family. Do you want to know the first thing he said to me after seeing them?"

"What?"

"We never did anything with Ryan while he was here,"

"That's not true,"

"Yes it is. We only took him to those fancy parties where he moped in the corner all night long with Seth," Sandy turned his computer to show her. "Derek Morgan took him to the zoo, shot hoops with him, took him to a cabin on the lake…"

"So what are you saying?"

"If you think you can win custody, go right ahead. But you won't have my support. You'll be on your own."

"Sandy-"

"He has a big extended family," he showed her a picture of a big group of people sitting around a bonfire. "Not just Agent Morgan's family. I'm talking about his work family as well. They're one big family unit. Two of them have kids and Ryan seems to enjoy hanging out with them. When did we ever take Ryan out on any kind of outing? And you can bet if they get Ryan to talking about his time spent with us, that he's going to tell them everything."

"It wasn't that bad," Kirsten stated softly.

"Say it enough and maybe you'll convince yourself." Sandy got up and started to leave. "By the way, today he started at a new school. There are pictures of him with Agent Morgan and his girlfriend before they left this morning."

Sandy walked out of his office, leaving her speechless. She slowly walked to Sandy's desk and sat before his computer and started to scroll through all of the pictures.

* * *

Derek pulled up to the school at precisely three-thirty like he promised Ryan. He parked by the curb and looked towards the front entrance for Ryan as kids started filing out the front doors.

"There he is," Penelope smiled as she saw him talking to two other boys. "Oh good, he made friends."

"Good, I was a little worried." He smiled as Ryan spotted them and ran to the car.

"Hey," he greeted them as he opened the back door and climbed in.

"So who were you talking to just now?" Derek asked him.

"That was Malachi and Keaton," he told them. "Don't make such a big deal."

"All right, then tell us about all your classes," Penelope smiled back at him as they pulled away from the school. "What did you do today?"

"Well in Math, they just started Algebra. Which I could understand what they were talking about. And in Science, they just started learning about ecosystems. Right now, they're learning about tundra. In History, they were talking about Ferdinand Magellan. He organized the Spanish expedition to the East Indies…."

"When did you lose focus?" Derek mumbled quietly.

"At ecosystems," Penelope whispered.

"Why are we at the BAU?" Ryan asked as he saw them pull into the parking lot.

"We have a meeting with Hotch," Derek told him. "It'll be quick."

"Are you going back to work?"

"Not for another couple of weeks," they all started inside and stopped to get Ryan's visitor badge. "He just wants to go over some things."

"I also had Art as my sample class today," Ryan told them.

"What'd you do in there?"

"We sketched still life and I have an assignment for next week because I said I wanted to add the class to my schedule."

"What's the assignment?" Derek asked as they all filed into the elevator.

"I have to make a collage all about me. Things I like and pictures. So I wanted to print out some pictures that I know Penelope has saved somewhere."

"We'll go through them tonight and print out the ones you want," she smiled at him as they stepped off the elevator and she saw JJ and Emily approaching them.

"Hotch is ready for you two," JJ told them.

"We'll watch him for you," Emily said.

"Tell these guys about your day," Derek smirked as he and Penelope walked up to Hotch's office.

"I also had gym today," Ryan continued. "I didn't have to do the warm-up running because I didn't have any gym clothes to change into, but they let me participate in the activity. They were doing archery. I got one in the Bulls eye."

JJ and Emily led Ryan down into the Bullpen and towards Derek's desk. Ryan scanned the room and looked back at JJ and Emily.

"Where's Spencer?" he asked them.

"He's going through some old cases in the conference room." JJ told him.

"Why's he going through old cases?"

"He does that sometimes when we don't have any active cases," Emily said.

"Do you think he would mind if I went up there? I wanted to talk to him."

"I don't think he would tell you no if you went in there," JJ said "Just make sure to knock first."

"Ok," Ryan went up the stairs as they watched him go.

"I think he's been around PG too much," Emily commented. "He's turned into quite the chatter box."

"I think he's just excited about his new school." JJ told her as they glanced up at Hotch's office. "How do you think it's going up there?"

"I don't know," Emily sighed. "I hope they don't lose that boy. The three of them are a family now."

Ryan knocked briefly on the conference room door before bursting into the room. He saw Reid closing a program on the laptop that sat before him on the table.

"Hi Spencer," Ryan announced. "You don't have to hide anything from me. I can keep a secret."

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"For someone that everyone describes as a technophobe, you've sure been spending a lot of time on that laptop."

"I'm going through old case files. They just recently-"

"You can't fool me," Ryan interrupted him.

"What-"

"I saw you close the chat icon when I came in, and I recognized Desiree's screen name," Ryan set his things down on the table beside Reid. "Don't worry. I haven't told anyone."

"Do I need to buy your silence?" Reid looked at him.

"No," Ryan shook his head. "And I'll try to stop Dave."

"Stop Dave?"

"He wants to set you up with someone," Ryan set up his Netbook. "I'll get him to focus on Aaron and Emily more."

"You guys are conspiring to get Hotch and Emily together?"

"Hey, it worked with Derek and Penelope." Ryan clicked the link to open his student account on his Netbook.

* * *

Derek and Penelope sat on pins and needles before Hotch's desk as he looked through all the information that Gloria had given them. He looked up at them with a blank expression.

"I don't like that look," Derek sighed.

"The only thing they have going for them is Mrs. Cohen's money," he told them.

"So they have no case?"

"You've done everything right," Hotch looked at Morgan.

"So what do you suggest?"

"Just do what you've been doing. There's no need to worry yourselves unless there's reason to. So unless you get papers from the Cohen's just go on with your normal lives."

"I plan on telling Ryan about this in a couple days. Along with the news about him having to see a therapist. Gloria recommended it."

"I can recommend a good family therapist. She'll let you sit in on the sessions with Ryan to ease his anxiety."

"That actually sounds great," Derek took the card from him.

"I'll go check on Ryan," Penelope got up. "We'll meet you in the bullpen."

"So how's it going with you and Penelope?" Hotch asked as he saw Derek watch her walk out of the room and close the door behind her.

"Fine as long as I don't try to get her to talk about her past,"

"So she's still guarded then?"

"She makes these comments that she doesn't think I can hear. When I ask her about it, she just shuts down."

"She's guarded about her past," Hotch nodded. "She's very vocal about everything else in her life though."

"You wouldn't be able to-"

"I've tried looking into her past, but I'm pretty sure she took the time to erase some of it. She doesn't want us to know."

"I already know about her hacker past. It's her childhood that she's keeping hidden. There's more to it than her parents' deaths and the abandonment of her brothers'."

"She's going to be tight-lipped if you try to confront her about it."

"So what do you suggest?"

"Just assure her that you'll be there for her and hopefully she'll open up to you."

"Thanks," Derek sighed as they both walked out of Hotch's office and went down to the bullpen.

"He wants to know if you called about the guitar lessons," Penelope said as she saw them approach where she and Ryan were waiting for Derek.

"Your first lesson is tomorrow at four," Derek told him. "Are you ready to go? I assume that you have homework."

"Spencer helped me with some of it," Ryan told him.

"He still has quite a bit though," Reid told them.

"Let's get home then," Derek grabbed his book bag. "I'm sure my mom and Dave are waiting there for us so that you can tell them all about your day."

Derek, Penelope and Ryan walked towards the elevator as the others watched them go. Ryan started talking again as they saw the elevator doors close.

"So?" JJ looked at Hotch.

"The Cohen's have no case so far," he told them. "And they haven't even filed any appeals to get Ryan back."

"And if they do?" Reid asked.

"Then they're going to have a fight on their hands. I guarantee that Morgan and Garcia will not give him up without a fight."

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. PLZ R&R!

Is anyone else having trouble viewing their reviews on this site or is it just me?


	25. Chapter 25: Penelope's Revelation

**AN:** So I am a little more than a month away from leaving on my mission trip to the Dominican. I am nervous and excited all at once. I will be gone for ten days so I won't be able to post anything in all that time. I'm not sure how much I will be able to post before then either because I still have a lot to do before I leave. So I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a little longer than the last few have been to make up for possibly not being able to post until I get back next month. Anyway, PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 25: Penelope's Revelation**

"No!" Ryan's loud voice broke the silence. "You can't make me!"

"Ryan-" Derek started, but Ryan scrambled up from the table.

"I don't want to go!" Derek was surprised that Ryan's voice could get that loud; in the entire time that they knew him, his voice had never reached the octave he was using at that moment.

"Hotch suggested it-"

"I'm not going!"

"It will be good for you."

"Says you!" Ryan crossed his arms and scowled at him.

"With everything that you've been through, I agree that you should have an unbiased party to talk to."

"These quacks don't know what they're doing," Ryan stated. "They claim that they know what I'm going through, but the truth is that their rich parents paid for their fancy degrees that they use to talk out of their asses."

"Language!" Derek admonished him.

"Sorry," Ryan mumbled. "But I'm still not going."

"Kid-"

"No!" Ryan ran up the stairs.

Derek sighed deeply as he heard the door slam upstairs. He sat at the counter with Penelope and sighed deeply, wondering why he decided to drop the bombshell so soon.

"It'll be ok," she told him. "He'll eventually come around."

"Yeah?" he looked over at her.

"Maybe," she told him.

"I'm going to try talking to him again. Maybe he's calmed down."

"I wouldn't count on it," she told him as he started up the stairs.

Penelope moved to clean up the mess that was made at the table in Ryan's haste to leave the room so quickly. There was a soft knock at the door and she smiled as Fran and Dave let themselves in.

"So how was Ryan's first day at school?" Dave asked.

"Ryan, let me in!" they heard Derek's voice drift down to him.

"No!"

"School was fine," she told them. "In fact, he would not stop talking about his classes from the moment we picked him up."

"So what changed from then to now?" Fran asked.

"We stopped at work to talk to Hotch and he gave Derek the name of a really good family therapist. So he decided to broach the subject with him when we got home."

"And it did not go well," Dave nodded.

"For that reason, he decided not to mention the whole thing with the Cohen's."

"Probably a good idea," Fran said as they all finished cleaning up.

The three of them listened to the pounding on the door and Derek pleading and Ryan refusing to open the door. Finally, Penelope got up and started up the stairs. Fran and Dave followed her in confusion as she reached the hallway outside of Ryan's room.

"Give up yet?" she asked Derek.

"Yeah," he sighed as he shook his hand. "I think I bruised my knuckles."

"Move over," Penelope pushed him and tried the door. "Really? You have a lock on the inside of his door?"

"I haven't had a chance to take it off yet." He defended.

She grumbled under her breath as she left them and came back with a bobby pin and started picking the lock.

"Where-"

"Four brothers," she reminded them. "Ryan, it's Penelope. I'm coming in."

"Ok," a soft voice called.

"I know that the three of you are going to listen," Penelope looked at the other three. "But I need you to promise that no matter what you overhear that you will not even attempt to come in until the door is opened by either me or Ryan."

"Why?" Derek asked.

"No questions, just promise." She demanded.

"We promise," Fran saw the intense look on her face.

"Promise," Dave said.

"I promise," Derek added. "But what's this about?"

"You said that I needed to let someone in," she told him. "I'm starting with Ryan."

Derek glanced at his mom and Dave as they were left with questioning looks as Penelope went into Ryan's room and closed the door firmly behind her.

"What-"

"Quiet," Fran told them as she tried to listen at the door. "I think they're talking."

Dave and Derek leaned closer to the door as well as they tried to listen to the conversation happening on the other side of the door.

* * *

Penelope slowly walked into Ryan's bedroom and saw a foot sticking out from under the bed. She kneeled down and pulled the comforter up and saw Ryan peering out at her.

"I would like to have a grown-up talk with you," she told him. "We can't do that with you down here."

Ryan slowly crawled out from where he was and silently climbed onto the top of his bed. Penelope got up and sat beside him.

"Now tell me why you got so mad,"

"It seemed like Derek wasn't listening to me," Ryan said softly.

"In his defense, you just started yelling. If you want someone to see your side of things, you have to explain yourself in a calm and rational matter."

"Ok,"

"So tell me why you don't want to see a therapist,"

"They don't help. They never do."

"Some of them do,"

"Not the ones I've had to see. They're all bad."

"There are some good ones out there."

"How do you know?" he grumbled.

"Because I've been to a therapist," she revealed.

"You have?" he looked at her.

"I was a kid, way younger than you are now."

"Why did you see a therapist?"

"What I'm about to say no one outside of my family knows," she told him. "Derek, Fran and Dave are all listening at the door in the hall. So this is the first time that you're all hearing this."

"We can keep a secret," Ryan told her.

"I haven't thought about this in a very long time,"

"Go ahead," Ryan moved closer to her.

"My father-my real father-he was a very bad man."

"What do you mean? How bad was he?"

"Well I don't remember much about him personally. I just know the stories that I've been told. And there are fragmented memories that I sometimes have dreams about."

"What did he do?"

"He was a very angry and short-tempered man. He constantly hit my mom starting just a few days after they were married. She didn't leave because she felt trapped. She didn't have anyone to help her."

"But she eventually got out?"

"She finally left him when I was two. She came home after working a double-shift as a waitress at a local diner. She left me with him during the day. When she got home, she found me in my crib not moving and barely conscious."

"What'd he do to you?" Ryan asked softly.

"Apparently, I had gotten sick during the day. I was just very fussy and he couldn't handle me." Penelope took a deep breath. "My mom rushed me to the hospital and the doctors told her that I had two broken legs and a broken wrist along with a fractured collar bone. I also had a black eye and a split lip."

"That's awful," Ryan looked at her. "How did your mom get you both out?"

"Some nurses at the hospital helped her and she just ran." Penelope sighed. "A few months later, we wound up in California and we met my step-dad and all my step-brothers."

"They were nicer to you right?"

"Absolutely," she smiled at him. "We were a family from the moment we all met."

"So when did they make you see a therapist?"

"I started getting these really bad nightmares. I didn't remember them all as a whole, but when I started describing them my mom thought I was remembering so she took me to see a therapist."

"So what happened?"

"It helped. I eventually stopped having the nightmares. I still see a therapist from time to time. And it helps me to get everything off my chest."

"I guess it can be a good thing to talk to a stranger," Ryan mumbled.

"This therapist comes highly recommended by Hotch. And Derek and I can even sit in on the session with you if you wish."

"Maybe,"

"Now I think you have an apology to make, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Ryan slid off the bed and started towards the door as he looked back at her. "And Derek will probably want to talk to you for the next several hours."

"Don't I know it," she said quietly.

* * *

Derek started tearing up as he listened to Penelope tell Ryan her story on the other side of the door. Fran and Dave were seen wiping their eyes as well as they all looked at each other.

"I can't believe that," Fran stated.

"I knew she was hiding something, but this big?" Derek said softly.

"It just proves my point," Dave said. "She is a very strong person to go through that."

"Hey," Ryan opened the door and looked at all of them. "I'll go to therapy."

"Good," Derek smiled down at him.

"I'm sorry for yelling," Ryan added softly.

"It's ok. You just wanted to be heard." Derek nodded.

"Why don't we go downstairs," Fran suggested as Penelope appeared in the doorway. "I think these two have some things to talk about."

"Don't be mad at her for not telling you," Ryan looked between them.

"I'm not mad," Derek looked at Penelope.

"We'll be downstairs if you need us Kitten," Dave told her and she nodded.

"Come on," Derek took her hand and led her into his bedroom.

* * *

Fran and Dave followed Ryan back downstairs as he got his book bag and set up his Netbook at the counter. Fran decided to make them all some supper since she knew that Derek wouldn't have the time to.

"Are you all right?" Dave asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

"That girl is just like another daughter to me," she turned to face him. "She has been from the moment that I met her. I can't imagine anyone hurting her like that."

"I know,"

"I can't believe that happened to her," Fran sighed. "How any parent could do that to their child, or how a husband could do that to their wife for that matter."

"Like she said, she was only two. So she doesn't remember it; she just has fragmented memories. I think that's a good thing."

"But still-I used to volunteer at the woman's shelter in Chicago. Whenever I saw all those women come in desperate for help…."

"It's all right," he assured her.

"Dave?" Ryan called.

"What's the matter buddy?" he went over to him. "Do you need some help?"

"Not with my homework," he told him. "I want to surprise Penelope with something, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea. And if I do it, I'm going to need your help."

"What's the surprise?"

"I want to find her brothers,"

"Oh," Dave sighed as he looked at Fran. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not."

"Everyone needs a family," Ryan said. "Even if they were mad at her all that time ago, they're still her family."

"I wouldn't even know where to start,"

"I know the name of one of her brothers," Fran came over to them. "It's Tim, he's the one closest in age to Penelope."

"And you have all those FBI guys and PI friends to help you," Ryan looked at Dave and he sighed. "Please? It's for Penelope."

"She is one of my weaknesses. I would do anything for her."

"So?"

"If we do this, it stays between the three of us. Derek doesn't need to find out until there's something to tell him. And we meet them in person first if we're able to locate them."

"Deal,"

"I'll get started tomorrow," Dave told them.

* * *

Derek sat Penelope down on one side of the bed and silently sat down next to her. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and she lay her head down on his shoulder.

"How come you never told us?" he asked softly.

"I didn't want anyone to know," she responded quietly. "Not even you, the person that I tell everything to."

"But-"

"That was my past," she sat up and turned to face him. "This right here is my present and future."

"We still need to address this,"

"I know,"

"So tell me," he looked at her. "Anything you want. And you don't have to tell me everything. Just what you're comfortable telling me."

"My mom told me the story when I was in high school. That's why I started to rebel. Staying out late, drinking, being around kids that I really shouldn't have."

"Ok,"

"My mom met my real dad when she was very young. She said she was just barely out of college. She said he was very charming and he managed to talk her into a lot of things that she regretted after they happened." She took a deep breath and he took her hand and squeezed it tightly. "She found out she was pregnant not long after they started dating. They decided that the best thing to do would be to get married, just to get their parents off their backs."

"So a marriage of convenience?" she nodded. "So when did the abuse start?"

"A few days after they got married. She said it just came out of nowhere because she had no indication that he would do that. She said that he constantly threw in her face that he never wanted to get married or have kids. He said that he could be out living his life if he wasn't burdened with us."

"But she left you alone with him?" he looked at her.

"She said that she thought he had changed," Penelope sighed deeply. "He went to counseling and the abuse had stopped. Then that day happened."

"The day that she took you to the hospital,"

"She said that was the first and last time that he had ever raised a hand to me. She said that was the final straw. So she made a plan to get us out of there with the help of one of the nurses that worked at the hospital."

"I'm glad you finally told me," he held her tightly. "Even if it was because of what was happening with Ryan."

"I'm not sure if I was ever going to tell you," she said softly. "I didn't want to burden any of you."

"It's not a burden," he softly kissed her forehead. "Is that why you're afraid to get close to me? Or to any of your other relationships?"

"I guess that's part of it."

"And the other part?"

"There's more coming," she looked at him. "Just not yet."

"How much more?"

"A few more," she told him. "But only one more is about my bio dad."

"Do you know where he is right now? Should we be on the lookout for him?"

"I don't know anything about him, other than his name. Heck I don't even know where we lived before we left him. I don't know if he's even still alive."

"What is his name?"

"Kenneth Whitmore,"

"Maybe we can look into him at work-"

"Please don't," she pleaded with him.

"Just to see if he's close-"

"I have no ties to him anymore. He's not my father. I don't want to know anything about him."

"You're right, I'm sorry." He held her. "But if something happens down the road-if he comes looking for you or something-I will do everything I can to protect you."

"I know you will," she smiled at him. "I have my very own superhero."

"Sorry if I'm interrupting," they heard Dave's voice as he knocked softly on the door. "Fran made us all some supper if you guys are hungry. Or we can bring you up a couple trays if you don't want to come down."

"We're coming down!" Penelope called as she pulled Derek off the bed with her.

"Are you sure?" he looked at her. "They would understand-"

"I need to be around my family right now," she told him.

"You got it," he started to follow her out. "You are definitely spending the night. I don't want you to be alone tonight."

"I don't want to be alone." She smiled at him as they started down the stairs.

They got downstairs and saw Ryan sitting at the counter still as Dave and Fran were setting the table. Derek closed the Netbook and Ryan hopped off the stool.

"I need help after supper," Ryan told them. "I need those pictures printed out."

"I thought you said the collage was due next week," Derek told him.

"That doesn't mean that I have to leave it for the last minute,"

"Definitely nothing like you when you were in school," Fran commented.

"How are you doing Kitten?" Dave hugged Penelope tightly.

"Better," she smiled at him. "It feels good to get a little bit off my chest."

"So there's more coming?"

"Eventually, just not yet."

"Well we'll all be here for you when you feel up to it."

"Thank you," she smiled as they all sat down to supper.

* * *

 **AN:** I wanted to have a chapter where Penelope got to reveal a little bit about her past. I figured this was the best way to do it. Depending on the feedback from this chapter, there may or may not be a childhood link between Penelope and the Morgan family. If anyone is interested in what that may be, PM me and I'll give you a little hint. I hope you all liked this chapter. PLZ R&R!


	26. Chapter 26: Making Contact

**AN:** Another update for all of you. Hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 26: Making Contact**

Mr. Garcia,

My name is David Rossi and I'm hoping that you can help me. I am looking for the Timothy Garcia who grew up in San Francisco, California. He would have grown up with three older brothers by the name of Mitchell, Joe and Michael; his dad's name would've been Hector and his step-mom's name was Michelle. He would've also had a step-sister named Penelope.

I am inquiring on behalf of Penelope. I have known her for several years and consider her as my own daughter. She already has a group of people that she considers to be her family, but I think she deserves to be reunited with her other family.

She doesn't know that I'm trying to make contact with her family. I decided to wait and see if this actually works out or not. She's had a lot of heartache in her life so she doesn't deserve anymore.

If you believe that the person I've described to you could be your sister, please feel free to message me back. Even if you're not the same Timothy Garcia that I've described, message me back and let me know so that I can continue my search.

Thank you for taking the time to read this message.

David Rossi

* * *

Derek sat on the uncomfortable chair beside Ryan who had been moping since Derek had picked him up from his guitar lesson. Today was Ryan's first session with his therapist. After his talk with Penelope he had agreed to see a therapist, but he was still reluctant to talk to a complete stranger. Derek looked up as the receptionist called Ryan's name and he glanced over at him.

"Come on kid," Derek stood up and Ryan reluctantly followed.

They were led into a room at the end of the hall and they both looked around in curiosity. It seemed welcoming enough to Derek. There were plaques hung up on the wall telling them where the doctor had degrees from. And there were toys and arts and crafts supplies set up as well.

"This doesn't seem so bad," Derek told him.

"I wish Penelope was here," Ryan said softly. "She said that she would be here."

"She really wanted to…."

"But she had to work," Ryan finished.

Early that morning, Penelope had gotten a call from Hotch telling her to come into the office. They had gotten a personal request from the chief of police out of Boston. There was a serial who was using the ploy of installing security systems in the homes of single women. Once he was in, that was when he blitz attacked them and kept them prisoners in their own homes for several days before he raped and murdered them. No one ever came looking for them until several days after they had already been murdered because they all had been new to the area trying to make a fresh start.

"Hello," an older lady with auburn hair came into the room. "I'm Dr. Yance, but everyone calls me Nancy. You must be Derek and Ryan."

"Hello," Derek shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you. Ryan…."

"Hi," he said softly.

"Before we get down to business, I was wondering if Ryan would maybe want to draw for a few minutes." Nancy smiled at him.

"Draw what?" he looked at her.

"How about a family picture?"

"Ok," Ryan slowly walked over to where there was an art easel set up with collections of crayons.

"This is always nerve-wracking at first," Nancy told Derek. "But once he has a few sessions under his belt he'll be willing to talk more."

"That's just his personality. He doesn't usually talk all that much."

"Well part of my job is to break him out of his shell," Nancy smiled as Ryan came back over to them. "Finished already?"

"Yeah," Ryan hastily handed her the paper and sat beside Derek on the couch.

"Can you tell me what you drew?" Nancy smiled at him.

* * *

Penelope walked through the door of Derek's home and smiled when she spotted Fran moving around in the kitchen. She looked over at her and smiled back as she mixed up some ingredients in a large bowl.

"You're home early," Fran smiled.

"Hotch sent me home," she stold her. "They already had the briefing and Hotch sent me all the files that I need to do the checks, which I won't start until Ryan is asleep. Hotch made me promise to get some sleep tonight."

"Good, that'll give us some time to talk."

"Oh no," Penelope sighed.

"Hey, you talked to both Derek and Dave. I think it's only fair that we get to talk as well. After all you will eventually be my daughter, even more so than you have all these years."

"All right," Penelope went to help her make up the treats. "What do you want to talk about?"

"First I understand why you kept it to yourself all these years," Fran started. "Your friends can be nosy and overbearing sometimes."

"Yes they can," Penelope nodded.

"But you know they would be there for you no matter what."

"They would've also looked at me in sympathy," Penelope said. "I've seen enough of that to last a lifetime."

"I can see that," Fran nodded. "So why not come to me? I was a nurse and helped at a shelter. If anyone would understand, it'd be me."

"Yes you would've understood," Penelope sighed. "But you also would've handled me like a professional would. And I didn't want that."

"I would've just been a shoulder to lean on," Fran assured her. "Someone to help you get everything off your chest."

"Truthfully there's nothing to tell," Penelope looked at her. "I don't know if I what I remember is real. All I have is what everyone else has told me."

"Some of those memories could be fact,"

"Obviously some of it is. Otherwise I wouldn't have had casts on both my legs when we showed up in California. I just don't want to think about it."

"We're home!" the door opened and Derek came in with Ryan.

"Penelope!" Ryan ran to her and she lifted him into her arms. "You're home."

"Hotch made me leave work," she looked at Derek. "So how was it?"

"She made him think about some things for next time," Derek told them.

"As much as I was curious about therapy," she looked down at Ryan. "I was talking about your first guitar lesson. What'd you learn?"

"He just had me play a scale," Ryan's eyes immediately lit up. "I'm supposed to practice all the chords in order for the next lesson."

"You can show me later," Penelope smiled at him. "I'm helping Fran make our supper for tonight."

"Why don't you start on your homework?" Derek smiled at him as Penelope put him down again. "Set it up at the table and I'll help you if you need it. But I doubt that you will."

Ryan went to get his bookbag and got out his Netbook and several of his workbooks as Derek went to greet Penelope with a tight hug.

"So how was therapy really?" Fran asked.

"Right off the bat, he has deep family issues." He told them.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that he's happy here, but he has conflicting emotions about the Atwoods. He was asked to draw a family picture. He came back with a drawing of a house, but it was half one house that I assumed was supposed to be his mom's and half this house. He drew himself outside both of the houses."

"I have a feeling that he's going to need to attend those sessions for a while."

"Yeah," Derek sighed as there was a beeping from Penelope's laptop that was sitting on the counter.

"I'm here," Penelope opened it up and enlarged the chat icon as she saw Dave's face appear. "Well hello, my Itallion Stallion. What can I do for you?"

"There's another victim. Hotch just emailed you a list of possible search criteria on the unsub. We think they have a background in technology of some sort and that each of the victim's represents someone who jilted him."

"Got it," she smiled at him. "I'm at Derek's and we're all here."

"Hey honey," Fran appeared. "How is everything?"

"Hopefully we'll catch this sicko sooner rather than later." He sighed. "How is everything on your end?"

"Just waiting for you to get home."

"I meant Ryan. How was his day?"

"We're not talking about his therapy," Derek told him. "But he had a blast at his guitar lesson."

"Good," Dave nodded. "It's time to give the profile so I have to go."

"Talk to you soon," Penelope smiled at him. "I'll start on those searches now and they should hopefully be done by the time that Ryan goes to bed."

"I don't know what we'd do without you, Kitten."

"You'll never have to find out."

"Love you," Fran told Dave before they both logged off.

Since she knew the searches would take awhile to complete, Penelope immediately set to work as Derek helped Fran finish making supper. Ryan was heard typing and clicking away on his Netbook as Derek occasionally would go over and check on him.

* * *

JJ and Emily walked into one of the rooms that were set up for them at the local precinct. They spotted Dave sitting before a laptop and frowning.

"Anything from Garcia yet?" JJ asked.

"She said the searches should be done by the time that Ryan goes to bed," he glanced at his watch. "We have a couple hours yet."

"Is everything ok?" Emily asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been a little off since we started this case."

"Is this about the Cohen's?" JJ asked. "Have they filed an appeal?"

"There's been no word yet about that," Dave told them.

"So what is it?"

"There was a big spectacle when Derek told Ryan that he would have to see a therapist. It was bad."

"How bad are we talking?"

"Ryan locked himself in his bedroom and refused to come out until Penelope got involved. She was a big help. She's the whole reason that he agreed to go to therapy actually."

"How'd she do that?" Reid came in followed by Hotch, both back from revisiting the latest crime scene.

"Well she told him that she had to go to therapy when she was younger than him."

"She did?" Hotch looked concerned. "Why did she have to go?"

"That I can't tell you," Dave sighed. "That story has to come directly from her."

"Why?" JJ asked. "What happened to her?"

"All I can say is that it involves her real dad," Dave got up and started out of the room. "I'm going to check in with the lead detective."

"It's bad," Emily said as they watched him leave the room.

"He wouldn't even look us in the eye," Reid pointed out. "He was trying to avoid the subject."

"We can't do anything about Garcia right now," Hotch told them. "Let's just focus on this case at the moment."

"Right," they all started going through the victimology again.

* * *

Penelope was helping Fran clean up while Derek was getting Ryan settled into bed. They had just finished loading the dishwasher when Penelope's computer started beeping.

"The searches are done," she turned on her headset. "I will be in the zone for I don't know how long."

"Got it," Fran smiled at her as she went to sit on the couch to wait for Derek to come back down.

"He is out," Derek sighed as he sat beside her. "He was asleep before I even finished the chapter."

"He's had a busy day," she smiled at him as he looked back at Penelope typing away at the counter. "She's going to be closed off from the outside world for a while."

"Yeah," he turned back around and lay his head back on the couch.

"What is it?"

"I'm just still thinking about that story about Pen's dad," he sighed. "I mean, I can't even imagine what she went through."

"None of us can," Fran told him. "But she's strong."

"I know," he glanced over at her. "I mentioned something to her about looking him up at work. Just to keep tabs on him. She refused though. She said that was her past and she wanted to stay focused on her future."

"I can understand that," she nodded. "So she told you his name."

"Last name is Whitmore." He told her.

"Whitmore?"

"What's that look for?" Derek saw her concern. "What's the matter?"

"That name sounds so familiar," she stated.

"It could be a pretty common name. I've never heard it, but-"

"This whole thing just puts me on edge." Fran sighed deeply.

"Tell me about it. She says there's more coming. Are they worse than what we already know?"

"We should probably stop talking about it," Fran saw Penelope removing her headset and coming over to them. "How's their case going?"

"I believe we pinned down the unsub," she told them. "They're going to call after they have him in custody. So I think Dave will be calling you in a little while."

"On that note, I'm going to head back home." Fran started gathering her things.

"You can always stay the night," Derek told her.

"Thanks, but I'd rather sleep in my own bed." She told them. "Good night."

"Night Ma," Derek smiled at her as they walked her to the door.

* * *

Mr. Rossi,

My name is Tim Garcia, and yes Penelope is my sister. To be honest, I was a little shocked when I opened my email and saw your letter. First because I was being contacted personally by THE David Rossi. My wife absolutely loves your books. Secondly, because I read that you had information pertaining to my missing sister.

I have been looking for Penelope since she disappeared after our parents' funeral. There was a lot of things said that day; most of it was said in the heat of the moment and because of the stress of the day. Mitchell didn't help much at that time either. We filed a missing person's report immediately after we realized that she never came home the morning after the funeral. But it was like she disappeared into thin air. We all assumed that her new friends had helped her.

I have already informed my brothers Joe and Michael about being contacted by you and the reason behind it. I decided to hold off telling Mitchell because of the rocky relationship they had. But Joe and Michael are both very interested in reconnecting with our baby sister. We would all very much like to know what she has been up to since she diappeared. So please get back to us as soon as possible.

Thank you,

Tim Garcia

* * *

Ryan and Fran both read the email that Dave had just received in shock. They all smiled at each other as Dave took his laptop back.

"So what do we think?" he asked them. "Should we set up a meeting time?"

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!

I just have one thing to say about last night's episode: Why can't they just let Reid be happy? I think he deserves it the most.


	27. Chapter 27: Fran's Revelation

_**AN: Yet another update for all of you. I promise that I have not given up on my other story Abduction. It's just a little harder to write now. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. PLZ R &R!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: See first chapter.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Fran's Revelation**

Derek sat at his kitchen counter going over all the paperwork that the principal had sent home with Ryan. He looked up at his mom once again as she paced slowly in his kitchen and she continued to mumble to herself.

"Ma, just let it go," He told her. "It'll come to you eventually."

"I just can't stop thinking about it," she stopped to look at him. "I know I've heard the name Whitmore before. I just can't place it."

"Keep it down," he whispered harshly as he glanced towards the stairs. "She just got home and is taking a very long-deserved bubble bath upstairs. She deserves it after the long case they all had."

"You're right, I know." She sighed as she finally sat down next to him at the counter. "So what is all this?"

"The school's evaluation on Ryan," he told her. "He has an above average IQ. It's not high like Reid's, but they're enrolling him in the advanced program. He'll still take his same classes, he'll just have the advanced work."

"That's great."

"And he has decided to take Art, Spanish, Educational Technology, Home Life and Sign Language as his electives."

"That's a lot of classes."

"He doesn't have them all every day," he told her.

"So what is Educational Technology and Home Life?"

"Educational Technology is basically a computer course. They teach them online safety as well." He looked at her. "And Home Life is like a Home Ec type of class. They have year-long projects they have to complete and they have to document how they help at home like helping to make dinner, that sort of thing."

"Interesting,"

"And it also says that he's reading at an eight-grade level."

"Wow,"

"Tell me about it. Pretty soon I won't be able to help him with his homework because I won't have a clue what he's talking about."

"Where is Ryan anyway?"

"He's over at Malachi's," he told her. "Dave said that he'll pick him up after they land and bring him over here. And we invited the team over for supper tonight."

"Sounds good," Fran stood up again, but stopped immediately. "Wait a minute, Claire Whitmore."

"What?" Derek looked at her in question. "Who is Claire Whitmore?"

"That was my mom," they looked up and saw Penelope coming down to them.

"What?" Derek looked at her as she joined them.

"How do you know what my mom's name was?" Penelope looked at Fran. "I never told anyone that. Those records were erased."

"I thought your mom's name was Michelle," Derek stated.

"That was after our names were changed so we could leave town," Penelope told them. "My real first name is Ana."

"Well I hope you don't want me to start calling you that." He told her. "I much rather prefer Penelope."

"That name is part of my past," Penelope turned back to Fran. "Answer my question. How do you know my mom's real name?"

"I need to call Dave," Fran took out her phone and pressed 1. "Hey honey. Have you guys landed yet?"

"A few minutes ago," Dave responded. "I am on my way to pick up Ryan as we speak and we'll be there shortly."

"I need you to pick up something at the house first," Fran told him.

"Ok, what do you need?"

"One of the photo albums," she spoke into the phone as Derek and Penelope just looked at her. "One of the ones from when the kids were very young. It should be a faded black cover."

"I assume that I'll get an explanation why."

"When you get here with it."

"Will do. See you in a bit." They both hung up.

"Care to explain what's going on?" Derek looked at his mom.

"When he gets here with the album and I can show you picture proof." She told them and they both gave each other questioning looks and shrugged.

* * *

Within the hour, the rest of the team started to arrive. Jack and Henry immediately started playing with Clooney in the living room as everyone else set up the dishes they had brought to share. The door opened again and Mudgie ran in and tackled the boys as Ryan walked in followed by Dave.

"Hey buddy," Derek smiled at him. "How was it at Malachi's?"

"He has five brothers and sisters," he told them. "Three of them have been adopted, and the other two are waiting to be adopted."

"Sounds like you had a fun afternoon," Penelope smiled at him.

"I helped Dave find the photo album too."

"It took us awhile to find it," Dave told his wife as he handed her the old, worn-out photo album. "But here it is. Care to explain why I had to bring that over?"

"In a minute," Fran started thumbing through the pages. "While I try to find what I'm looking for, I think someone should let several other people in."

"What?" Penelope saw her look right at her.

"I think she's telling you to tell the team," Derek told her.

"Dave hinted at some big thing," JJ told her. "But he didn't tell us."

"He said you had to be the one to tell us," Emily added.

"Tell them Penelope," Ryan looked up at her. "You were able to tell me and Derek. Telling these guys should be easier."

"We're here for you Garcia," Reid told her. "We'll always be here for you."

"All right," Penelope sighed. "There's a reason why I don't talk about my birth father. He was a very angry man…."

"Oh my god," JJ gasped as Penelope finished telling her story. "I am so sorry."

"This is why I never wanted to tell you," Penelope sighed as she was enveloped in a hug with JJ and Emily. "I didn't want to see the sympathy on your faces."

"Not sympathy," Emily told her. "Just disappointment that you felt you couldn't tell us something this big."

"The past should stay in the past," Penelope told them all. "I have moved on. Especially since I barely remember that time."

"Found it!" Fran said suddenly and brought the photo album back over and placed it on the counter in front of her son. "Look at this."

"It's a picture of me and Sarah and Desiree when Des was a baby," he said. "Wait, who is that other kid in this picture?"

"Anything look familiar?" Fran pointed out the photo to Penelope.

"That other kid kind of looks familiar." Penelope looked up at her. "So who is it?"

"Now look at this one," Fran pointed to another photo.

"That's me and my mom," Penelope gasped. "What-"

"You were our neighbor," Fran revealed. "You guys moved in when your mom was still pregnant with you. Derek was barely a year old, but he was very protective of you the moment you were born and you started coming to our house."

"How often did we come over?" Penelope looked at Derek and he took her hand.

"Constantly," Fran told the shocked room. "I watched you often whenever your mom had to pull double shifts at that diner she worked at."

"So you two were connected as babies," JJ smiled.

"Did you know?" Penelope looked at Fran. "What was going on at my house?"

"I had no clue for the longest time. But then your mom showed up with you at the Women's Shelter that I volunteered at. She made me promise not to tell anyone. And there was a strict 'don't ask, don't tell' policy so I had to follow it."

"But you tried to help?"

"Constantly," Fran sighed. "I watched you as often as I could. If I was working, James looked after you if he was able to. He figured out what was going on, but he knew that he couldn't bring your father in unless your mom pressed charges. She was just too frightened to do anything."

"This is so cool," Ryan skimmed through the photos. "It's kind of like you two were meant to be."

"He's right," Emily told them. "Who could predict that you two would find each other years down the road after being friends when you were toddlers."

"You guys both ended up in DC for a reason," JJ added as she looked at Penelope.

"I was working the night that your mom brought you into the ER," Fran spoke up.

"What?" Penelope looked at her.

"Neither James or myself were able to watch you that day. We both had to work double shifts so we sent the kids to their Aunt Yvonne's. We figured that you would be safe anyway. Your mom told us that there hadn't been an incident in nearly six months, and that your father had stopped drinking and enrolled in a recovery program. She said that it was a fresh start for the three of you."

"So you remember that night?"

"Like it was yesterday," Fran told her. "I had just started the 'graveyard' shift as it's called. Your mom was so scared that she was going to lose you…."

* * *

 _Fran Morgan had just come back from her break and greeted her co-workers as they just started to arrive for the 'graveyard' shift._

 _"_ _How is it tonight?" Jenny, a fairly new nurse asked._

 _"_ _Very boring. Nothing exciting-" She was cut short when there was a flurry of activity towards the Emergency Room doors. "Oh my god, Claire?"_

 _"_ _Fran!" the frazzled young woman rushed over to her. "You have to help me. She's barely breathing."_

 _Fran looked down at the toddler in her friends' arms as she heard the rattling in the chest as the young child struggled to breathe. She saw the blood and bruises covering her small body and knew what had transpired._

 _"_ _Bring her in here," Fran led her into a small curtained area. "Dr. McNealy!"_

 _"_ _What do we have here?" the veteran doctor came over and started examining the small child on the exam table._

 _"_ _This is Claire Whitmore and her daughter Ana," Fran told him. "They're my neighbors."_

 _"_ _She's definitely going to need surgery," Dr. McNealy saw the angle at which both of Ana's legs were twisted away from her body. "And we definitely need to do an x-ray and a CT scan. Do you know if she was shaken?"_

 _"_ _I don't know," Claire clutched her daughter's small hand. "I got home and found her like this. I just immediately brought her here."_

 _"_ _We're going to need your signature on some forms so that we can perform the surgery."_

 _"_ _Do what you have to do," Claire told him. "Just save my baby."_

 _Fran held Claire as they watched a couple nurses help Dr. McNealy roll the hospital bed out of the area and started down the hall._

 _"_ _She's going to be fine," Fran assured her._

 _"_ _I really hope so. She's all I have."_

 _"_ _I'm going to get you some coffee and make a phone call," Fran led her friend into the waiting room. "Just sit here and I'll be right back."_

 _Claire nodded slowly as she sat numbly in the uncomfortable chairs. Fran picked up the phone at the desk and dialed a number. She waited while she was patched through and sighed as she heard his voice._

 _"_ _James you need to get down here," she spoke into the phone. "Claire just brought in Ana. She was in bad shape. They just took her into surgery."_

 _Fran went back to Claire and handed her the styrofoam cup and she slowly sipped at the liquid. Fran was embracing Claire and whispering to her when James showed up with his partner. Claire barely acknowledged him. She was in her own little world, thinking about her baby girl. James knelt down in front of them and Claire finally acknowledged his presence._

 _"_ _I know this is hard and that you're worried about Ana," he told her. "But we need to get your statement. We will get you away from him and he won't be able to hurt you guys anymore."_

 _"_ _I need to leave him," Claire said softly. "I can deal with him hurting me. But the moment he laid a hand on my baby-"_

 _"_ _Tell me what happened."_

 _"_ _She woke up with a cold this morning. I was going to call off work because I know that she can be fussy when she's not feeling well. He told me that he would take care of her and I gave in." Claire took a deep breath. "I came home and the house was eerily quiet. Ana should have been running around. I found him passed out on the couch. I saw all the beer cans around him so I ran to check on Ana. I found her in her crib. She wasn't moving and barely breathing."_

 _"_ _It's ok," Fran hugged her._

 _"_ _We're going to pick him up," James stood up again. "And once Ana's out of danger, we'll get you two into protective custody."_

 _"_ _Thank you," Claire whispered. "I'm just not sure if it'll be enough."_

 _"_ _Claire Whitmore?" Dr. McNealy came out to them._

 _"_ _How is she?" Claire stood up._

 _"_ _Come with me," Fran and James followed her down the hall as the doctor led them to the intensive care unit._

 _"_ _Oh my god," Claire gasped as she saw Ana's tiny frame lying motionless on the big bed._

 _Both of her legs were encased in thick casts that ran from just above her knees to her feet so that just her tiny toes were showing. There was also a cast on her right wrist and several deep marks on her porcelain skin._

 _"_ _Is she ok?" Claire asked as she took her daughter's uninjured hand in hers._

 _"_ _She's going to be fine," Dr. McNealy assured her. "The casts will have to stay on for at least six weeks so the bones can heal."_

 _"_ _Thank you," Claire let out a deep breath. "Can I hold her if she wakes up?"_

 _"_ _Just be careful,"_

 _"_ _I will," Claire nodded as the doctor left the room. "I am the worst mom in the world."_

 _"_ _You are not," Fran held her._

 _"_ _I wasn't there to protect her."_

 _"_ _This is not your fault, do you hear me?" Claire nodded. "We're going to protect the both of you."_

 _"_ _It won't be easy. He'll find us."_

 _"_ _We will do whatever it takes to make sure that you two are safe," James assured her. "Count on it."_

 _"_ _Thank you," Claire smiled at her friends as the three of them watched the toddler sleep off the medication that was used during surgery._

* * *

There wasn't a dry eye in the kitchen as Fran finished telling them her story. Derek had pulled Penelope to sit on his lap and they both had tears in their eyes.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Penelope asked softly. "You helped us."

"What do you mean?" Fran looked at her.

"You were the nurse that helped us leave," Penelope stated.

"Yes," Fran told her. "I had a lot of help though."

"What do you mean?"

"I called my friends from the shelter. They quickly produced new identities for you both and got new birth certificates and anything else they thought you would need."

"What happened to Kenneth?" Penelope refused to refer to him as dad; Hector would always be her dad.

"He was arrested, but he managed to make bail the next day," Fran told her. "He tried to come to the hospital, but James was able to get officers positioned outside your room. Your mom never left your side."

"So how did we get out of town?"

"Claire gave me her key so I was able to get into your house and get a few of your guys' belongings. When the doctor signed off on your release, one of the other volunteers from the shelter snuck you guys out and drove you two to a bus station in the next town. Your mom was given open-ended bus tickets and told to get on the next bus and not to get off until she felt lucky."

"And we ended up in California,"

"It was the best thing for you both," Fran assured her.

"How long was Kenneth there? Or is he still there?"

"He left a few years after you did. He drank and gambled his way through his life savings and finally one day we found that he had abandoned the house and all of its belongings."

"That is incredible," Will, who had been quiet throughout the story, finally spoke up. "Imagine if you never left town. You and Morgan would've grown up together."

"And maybe you would've gotten together a lot sooner," Emily commented.

"Things happened the way they were supposed to," Penelope said.

"Everything happens for a reason." Ryan stated.

* * *

The next day, Penelope and Derek were still reeling from the events that were revealed. So Fran and Dave volunteered to take Ryan out to lunch. When they left, Penelope and Derek were doing a video chat with Sarah and Desiree, who were just as shocked as everyone else was.

Ryan sat at a big table in the restaurant with Fran and Dave as he crunched on the ice in his empty water glass. The real reason that they had offered to take Ryan out to lunch was because they had set up a meeting with three of Penelope's brothers.

"Can I have a Mountain Dew?" Ryan asked again.

"Let's give them a few more minutes," Dave told them.

"You said that ten minutes ago,"

"Maybe they're not coming," Fran said. "Maybe we should just order."

"Wait," Dave saw a group of three people talking to the hostess before she pointed to their table. "I think this is them."

"David Rossi?" one of them asked.

"Yes," he stood up to shake their hands.

"I'm Tim Garcia," he smiled at him. "These are my brothers, Joe and Michael."

"We still haven't told Mitchell," Joe told them.

"We think it's better that way," Michael added.

"This is my wife Fran, and this is Ryan-the person responsible for this reunion."

"So-"

"Let's order first, and then we can get down to it." Dave motioned the waitress over and they all placed their orders.

* * *

 _ **AN: so what'd you all think of Fran's big reveal? Will there be a positive outcome to the lunch with Penelope's brothers? PLZ R &R!**_


	28. Chapter 28: The Garcia's Three

_**AN: Trying to hurry up and post this before the new episode of Criminal Minds starts. I hope you guys like this update. PLZ R &R!**_

 _ **If any of you is interested in checking out The OC tv series, I found out where you can stream it. If anyone has a Smart Tv or has a Roku, there's a free app you can get called CW Seed. You can stream all the episodes there for free. As an added bonus on the same app, I also found the entire series of Birds Of Prey. For those of you that don't know, that's a very short-lived TV show that Shemar Moore was on before Criminal Minds. There are only 13 episodes, but it's totally worth the watch.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: See first chapter.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 28: The Garcia's Three**

Ryan sat eating the fries off the appetizer plate as he watched Penelope's brothers wearily from across the table. He wasn't sure if he trusted them just yet even though they seemed nice enough. Dave hadn't even gotten to talking about Penelope to them yet.

"I have to ask," Joe looked across the table at Ryan. "Are you Penelope's son? Are you our nephew? You kind of look like her."

"No," Ryan smiled as he shook his head at them. "I hope she's my mom soon, though."

"What?"

"Let me explain," Dave chuckled. "I'm David Rossi, and this is my wife Fran. Her son, my step-son Derek, works at the BAU in FBI headquarters with me. Derek is fostering Ryan right now and is in the process of officially adopting him. Derek just started dating your sister several months ago. She also works for the FBI."

"Penny is an agent?" Michael asked.

"Not a field agent. She's our technical analyst. She helps us behind the scenes."

"She says she makes you guys look good," Ryan added.

"That she does." Dave nodded as all their food arrived and they all dug in.

"Do you have any recent pictures of Penny?" Tim asked.

"Of course," Dave took out his phone and started swiping. "Ok, this is your sister with Derek….and this is them with Ryan…."

"Did you bring any pictures?" Ryan eyed the giant gift bag that Tim had brought with him.

"We brought these to give to Penelope," Tim pulled out a thick album. "We made copies of all these, but these are the originals. Her mom was crafty so she was into scrapbooking for awhile."

"That must be where Penelope gets her crafty side," Dave commented.

"Can I look at this?" Ryan asked.

"Of course," Tim smiled at him as Fran opened the cover and they started looking through the pages of images from Penelope's childhood.

"So does Penelope know that we're here?" Joe asked.

"Not yet," Dave told them. "We wanted to see how well this went, and if you were really sincere about meeting her again."

"So you've heard stories."

"She's very vocal and we're like a family," Dave stated. "She hasn't hidden the hurt she felt when your parents died. She blames herself for their deaths."

"We kind of blamed her back then too," Michael said. "But we were all young. We didn't mean it. When we tried to find her to apologize was when we realized that she was missing."

"Do you think we can see her now?" Tim asked.

"What do you think kid?" Dave looked over at Ryan. "Are they worthy enough?"

"They seem like it," Ryan commented. "I guess we can give you a trial visit."

"So it was your idea to find us?" Joe looked at him.

"Everyone needs their family," Ryan told him. "Even though she says that her team is her family now."

"So how serious are her and your son?" Michael looked at Fran.

"They've liked each other for years, they both were just too stubborn and hard-headed to admit it." She told them.

"I helped get them together," Ryan spoke up. "Me and Dave locked them in a wine cellar."

"What?" Tim looked at Dave.

"It was a long time coming," Dave told them. "I thought they were together when I first met them and saw the way they talked and acted around each other. They had this flirty banter with each other ever since they met."

"Is this her Sweet 16?" Fran pointed to a picture in the photo album. "Her dress is gorgeous; and flashy of course."

"Just like she is now." Ryan stated.

"That's not her Sweet 16," Joe told them. "She did have one of those, but that's a picture of her at her Quinceanera."

"After our dad adopted her and she officially became a Garcia," Michael said. "She was raised with both American and Spanish customs-"

"Even though she can't speak the language," Ryan cut in.

"Exactly," Tim smiled. "But she was exposed to all our cultural aspects. She loved the annual Day of The Dead parties that we held every year."

"I'm not sure if she celebrates it anymore," Fran told them. "But she loves all the holidays. She goes all out for them."

"She won't stop talking about Halloween," Ryan added.

"Which reminds me," Dave looked at him. "Have you thought about what you want to go as?"

"No," he shook his head. "I didn't really do anything on Halloween when I was little. Dawn didn't try to make it fun. She never tried to make anything fun."

"Who's Dawn?" Joe asked.

"My real mom," Ryan mumbled. "I think she's still in jail. So is my real dad."

"Later," Fran mouthed to them and they nodded in understanding.

"Like you said, Penelope loves all the holidays." Dave looked at Ryan again. "If you don't pick a costume out soon, she will take the decision out of your hands."

"So where is Penny?" Joe asked.

"She's at my son's place," Fran told them. "She's trying to come to terms with something that she just found out."

"Come to terms with what?" Tim asked. "Is she ok?"

"It's about her childhood. Before she and her mom showed up in California…." Fran started to explain the story again.

* * *

Derek walked back into the living room where Penelope was curled up on the couch and looking through the old photo album yet again. They had finally gotten done talking to Sarah and Desiree about everything.

"Tea?" he silently sat down next to her.

"Thank you," she gladly accepted it from him.

"What are you thinking about right now?"

"Just….everything." she said softly. "I just can't believe it."

"I know," Derek held her.

"I mean, we could've grown up together. I would've been friends with you and your sisters my whole life."

"If it wasn't for Kenneth," Derek said softly. "Try not to think about it."

"It's just-"

"Put it out of your mind for now," he pulled her closer to him and kissed her softly.

"I know I should-"

"Things happened the way they were supposed to," he told her and she nodded.

There was a sudden knock on the door and they both looked up abruptly as the front door opened and Dave walked into them.

"How are we doing?" he asked them.

"Still in shock," Penelope told him.

"We're still processing," Derek told him. "Where's Ryan?"

"Ok, I have something that you both should know." Dave moved to sit beside them. "It was never my idea, it was the kid's."

"What are you talking about?"

"You should read these first," Dave handed Penelope a set of papers and she and Derek skimmed through them.

"My brothers?" Penelope looked up at him. "You've been looking for my brothers? For how long?"

"Just a few weeks," Dave told her. "It was after you convinced Ryan to see his therapist. He asked me if I could track them down to surprise you."

"He was asking about your family when he was in the hospital," Derek told her.

"What?" she looked at him.

"He said that everyone needs a family,"

"They're here aren't they?" Penelope looked at Dave. "They're here in Virginia."

"Three of the four are in town," he told her. "They're waiting at the hotel they're staying at with Fran and Ryan if you're up to meeting them."

"Which one didn't show up?" Derek asked.

"Mitchell,"

"Not surprising," Penelope mumbled. "They really want to see me?"

"They're anxiously anticipating your arrival," Dave told her. "But you're in control here. What do you want to do?"

"I'll be there with you," Derek assured her.

"We all will," Dave added.

"One meeting," Penelope finally said. "Then I'll decide whether or not I want them in my life again."

"Agreed,"

"I'll need some time to get ready."

"I'll call and tell them that you'll be there in about an hour," Dave took out his phone. "Maybe a little bit longer."

"All right," Penelope got up and started upstairs.

"If this backfires," Derek looked at Dave. "If these guys hurt her-"

"I will let you take the first five punches," Dave told him. "But you have to let me get some shots in too."

* * *

A couple hours later, Derek parked his car at the curb in front of the hotel. He turned the car off and turned to look at Penelope, who hadn't said a word since they left the house.

"What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure-"

"It's not too late to back out of this."

"They came all this way," she argued.

"You don't owe them anything."

"Ryan went to all this trouble to surprise me. And Dave called in favors to find them."

"They would understand if you changed your mind," he took her hand.

"Let's go in," she sighed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she smiled. "If nothing else comes from it, at least Dave is paying for our supper tonight."

"Right," he smiled at her as they both climbed out of the car.

* * *

Tim saw the car that Dave described to them pull up to the hotel. He was watching out his hotel room window and smiled when he saw his sister being helped out of the passenger side of the car by a guy that reminded him of Fran.

"They're on their way up," Dave announced after hanging up his phone. "Just so you know, she was very reluctant to come here. Derek's not completely on board with this; especially if it's going to end up hurting her."

"We don't plan on hurting her," Joe told him.

"I'm glad," Dave nodded as there was a knock at the door.

Fran and Ryan got up from the table where they were sitting and went to open the door. Penelope was standing nervously beside Derek as he held her.

"Hey," Fran smiled at them. "They're just as nervous as you are."

"Not possible," Penelope mumbled.

"I hear this was all your idea, Super Sneak." Derek picked up Ryan.

"Are you mad?" he asked softly as he looked over at Penelope.

"I'm not mad," she smiled at him. "I'm just surprised that they showed up."

"They said they've been looking for you since you ran off,"

"Are you ready Kitten?" Dave approached them.

"As I'll ever be," she said softly as Ryan climbed down from Derek's arms.

"Just remember, they want this." She nodded as Derek took her hand and Dave led them farther into the room.

"Let me introduce-or reintroduce-all of you," Dave told them. "Kitten, these are your brothers Tim, Joe and Michael. They claim that they have your best interest at heart. And they better know by now that it would not be beneficial to their physical well-being to lie to a profiler."

"If we didn't before, we do now," Joe quipped.

"And this is your sister Penelope," Dave started again. "Our team are all protective of each other, but the rest of us are especially protective of Kitten here who always puts everyone else first. So if she is hurt, you can bet that you will have six people rushing to break down your doors in retaliation."

"Make that ten," Fran spoke up. "Me and Ryan and the girls are included in that."

"Three more," Ryan spoke up. "Jack, Henry, and especially Will would come after them too."

"I'd be the first in line." Derek stated as he came forward to face down the three Garcia brothers.

"Understood," Tim smiled at his sister. "You haven't changed much. Although I do prefer this look over the Goth look you used to sport."

"That was a long time ago," Penelope said softly.

"We know," Michael came forward. "We missed you. We have not stopped looking for you from the moment that we realized that you were gone."

"And Mitchell?" she looked at each of them.

"You know how he was. He never admitted it when he was at fault. He hasn't changed one bit."

"So are you ever planning on telling him?"

"We'll tell him after we get back to town,"

"How long are you here for?"

"A couple of days at least," Tim told her. "So I think we should make the most of this time that we can spend together."

"Give her your gift," Ryan spoke up. "We saw it earlier."

"You brought me something?" Penelope asked softly.

"We thought you might like to have these," Tim brought the big gift bag over and she opened it up in surprise. "We already made copies of everything, so these are all yours to keep."

"What is it?" Derek followed her to the table as she pulled out the contents.

"Memories," she told him as she pulled out the photo albums and some DVDs.

"Let me see," Derek took the one from the top of the pile. "I want to see what you got up to back then."

"I'll order us some room service," Dave spoke up. "I was going to call the others. Unless you think it's too soon."

"Don't call them yet," Penelope told him. "We'll invite them over tomorrow."

"You got it," Dave smiled as he and Fran went to go get the room service menu.

"So far, so good." He commented.

"Let's just hope it lasts," she told him as they watched Derek and Ryan look through all the albums as Penelope talked with her brothers.

* * *

 _ **AN: So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. PLZ R &R!**_

 _ **I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again. My family and I got some bad news this week. My step-sister was just two weeks away from giving birth to her second child when she was told that there was no heartbeat. It's a devastating loss and I hope you all will keep us all in your thoughts as we struggle to make sense of why this happened.**_


	29. Chapter 29: Family Meets Family

_**AN: I just want to thank all of you who sent me all your prayers and kind words for me, my family and especially my step-sister. I appreciate it all. I keep thinking about it which I don't think is a good thing so I decided to post another chapter to get my mind off things. I hope you like this. PLZ R &R! **_

_**Disclaimer: See first chapter.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 29: Family Meets Family**

Derek woke up when he started hearing noises downstairs. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and glanced at the space next to him. He smiled when he saw Penelope still sound asleep and cuddled underneath the covers.

"Morning," he reached over to kiss her deeply on the lips.

"Mmm," she moaned and smiled at him as she slowly opened her eyes. "Now that is the perfect way to wake up."

"You were out late last night. When did you get in?"

"Very late," she slowly sat up. "Or very early, depending how you look at it."

"Did you-"

"I love you being so protective of me," she interrupted him. "But I was fine."

Penelope had stayed behind at the hotel to continue catching up with her brothers after Derek had left to get Ryan settled for the night. He was reluctant to leave her alone with them, but she assured him that she would be fine.

"I can't help wanting to protect you," he held her. "You are very precious cargo to me."

"Back at you," she smiled at him.

"I think we better get downstairs," he told her. "I think I hear Ryan is up already."

"I'll meet you down there," she climbed out of bed. "I need to take a shower."

"See you downstairs," he started out of the bedroom as she went into the bathroom.

Derek rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he slowly made his way downstairs. He stood shocked at the scene before him; Dave was there and he and Ryan were frying up some eggs together.

"Dave?" Derek yawned. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I came by to talk to Kitten," he told him. "I let myself in and found Ryan watching cartoons, so I decided to make you guys some breakfast."

"Well thanks," Derek sat at the counter. "But you didn't have to-"

"After all those sweets that she brings in for all of us, I think she deserves this."

"Is Penelope awake?" Ryan asked.

"She just woke up and she's taking a shower," he told him. "She'll be down soon."

"So how'd it go last night after we all left?" Dave asked.

"Good I think," Derek told him. "She told me to stop being so protective of her. That she can take care of herself."

"I can," they all looked up and saw Penelope coming down to them.

"We know you can Kitten," Dave smiled at her. "We can't help wanting to take care of you after all that you've done for us."

"I appreciate that," she smiled as she sat down beside Derek. "So why are you really here this early? Besides to make us breakfast."

"I wanted to know if you still want the team to meet your brothers," Dave looked at her. "Because I have an idea."

"And what's your idea?"

"We could do the meet and greet at my house," Dave told her. "I can fire up the grill and the team can come over and meet your brothers."

"That'd be great actually," Penelope smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," Dave turned back to the stove. "And your breakfast is served."

"You're not staying?" Derek asked as he saw that Dave had only gotten three plates out. "You made this. You should eat with us."

"I have things to do for the get together today," Dave told them. "You three enjoy your time together."

"Thank you," Penelope smiled as the three of them got settled at the table as Dave walked out of the house.

* * *

Later that day, Penelope and Derek showed up at Dave's with Clooney. Penelope set the desserts she had made on the counter as Dave came back in after firing up the grill.

"You didn't have to make anything," he told her. "We have everything."

"I tried to tell her," Derek told him.

"Are you really going to say no to these?" Fran unwrapped the plate of cookies.

"You do know my weakness," Dave took one of the platter.

"They're here!" Ryan ran to open the door when the bell rang.

"Hello again," Tim smiled down at Ryan as Joe and Michael followed him in.

"This place is huge," Michael looked around.

"Dave is a successful crime novelist," Joe told him as they joined the others in the kitchen. "Hello again."

"The team hasn't arrived yet," Derek told them. "Let's go out to the backyard."

"Wait," Michael spotted the platter of cookies. "Pen had to have made these."

"Gimmie," Joe grabbed one from the platter as well. "We have so missed your cooking. You did learn from the best after all."

"Man, your mom rocked our family dinners." Tim commented as he too took a cookie before they all went out to the backyard.

As soon as they were outside, Ryan started running around the yard with Clooney and Mudgie as he threw a ball across the yard for them to fetch.

"Ryan seems like a good kid," Joe commented as they helped set up the picnic tables and got more patio chairs out.

"He is," Derek nodded. "He's smart too."

"He seems a bit shy," Michael said.

"Not exactly shy," Penelope told them. "More like he's observing."

"Believe me, he likes to talk." Derek told them. "Almost as much as your sister."

"Not possible," Tim commented.

"Not funny," Penelope glared at them.

"They're here," Dave opened the back door. "Should I send them out?"

"Yes," Penelope smiled as Ryan ran to her side.

"Love the cookies Pen," Emily told her as the team filed out into the back yard.

"Who are the other visitors?" JJ asked.

"Gather around everyone," Penelope told them. "There are a few people that I want you all to meet."

The team all gathered around as Derek went to Penelope and Ryan and her brothers stationed themselves on either side of them.

"Everyone," Penelope started. "This is Tim, Joe and Michael; my brothers."

"What?" JJ looked at the newcomers. "I didn't even know that you were looking for them."

"I wasn't," Penelope smiled down at Ryan. "It was this little guy's idea."

"We've already taken care of the threatening," Derek told them. "Now we're in the reacquainting part of the visit."

"I'm Aaron Hotchner," he came forward to shake their hands. "I'm the Unit Chief of the BAU; I'm your sister's boss."

"She told us great detail about all of you last night," Tim told them. "So it feels like we know you already."

"Wyan," Henry ran to him. "Let's pway."

"Come on," Ryan led him and Jack away. "Let's play fetch with Clooney and Mudgie."

"Yay!" Jack squealed as they ran to find the dog toys.

"That's Henry and Jack," Derek told Penelope's brothers. "Jack is Hotch's son and Henry is JJ and Will's son."

"I'm JJ," she came forward with Will. "And this is Will."

"And that's Emily," Penelope pointed her out. "And Reid standing in the back."

"Nice to meet you all," Michael told them.

Dave started grilling up the burgers and hot dogs as the team slowly got to know Penelope's brothers. Derek brought out the photo albums that he decided to bring along and everyone started looking through them and asking for explanations of each picture. Ryan continued to run around the yard with Jack and Henry and the dogs.

"He sure is a bundle of energy," Tim sat down beside Penelope.

"Oh yes," she smiled at him. "He will fall right to sleep tonight."

"So do you live with Derek then?"

"Sort of," she said slowly. "I mean, we haven't made it official yet. But a lot of my things are there, and he made room for my stuff. I also sleep over a lot."

"I hate to break it to you sis, but you're living with him." he smiled at her.

"We're taking it slow."

"How slow are we talking?"

"He said he's willing to wait for as long as it takes."

"So what's the problem?"

"You know I've always sucked at relationships."

"Is this about Kenneth or the incident in high school?"

"Incident? Really?" she glared at him.

"You should keep the past in the past. Don't let it define your future."

"Just taking it slow,"

"So tell us about Ryan," Joe came up to them with Michael. "How long has he been living with Derek?"

"He's been officially living with him for almost a month," Penelope smiled. "But he's been in our lives for the last several months."

"How'd he meet him?"

"Derek volunteers at an all-boys orphanage. He mentors all the boys there. But he was drawn to Ryan. They had similar childhoods; not completely the same, but similar."

"And what about his real parents?"

"They're both in jail…." Penelope started telling them about everything she had found out about Ryan's childhood and included the possibility that Ryan's former guardians may try to take custody away from Derek.

"I could help him out," Joe spoke up. "I'm a PI myself. I could find out everything you need to know about the Cohen's, their extended family, neighbors, friends…."

"Dave has that covered," she smiled at him. "But if we need backup, you'll be the first one we'll call."

"Mom!" a loud voice interrupted them.

The entire yard became silent as Ryan ran up to Penelope. They all watched as Ryan, realizing what he'd let slip, stopped in his tracks and saw them all looking at him.

"I-I mean Penelope," he shook his head.

"What's the matter?" Penelope gave everyone a warning look, knowing that Ryan would be uncomfortable with everyone staring at him.

"Private convo," Ryan looked at Penelope's brothers.

"You've been around Penny too much," Michael was taken aback.

"I need some help with the grill!" Dave called and the three of them got up and walked over to the rest of the group.

"Now what's wrong?" Penelope lifted Ryan into her arms.

"Nothing's wrong, I just figured out what I want to be for Halloween."

"All right,"

"Jack and Henry are going as superheroes," he told her. "And so are Malachi and Keaton. I think I should go as one too, but the one I want to go as….he's not famous."

"I am very intrigued,"

"I want it to be a surprise to everyone on Halloween," Ryan told her. "But I'll need your help with the costume. And you can't tell anyone."

"I promise," she smiled at him. "Now who do you want to go as?"

Ryan leaned over to whisper in her ear and she smiled at him as he pulled away again.

"That is a very interesting idea," she told him.

"Can you do it?"

"Absolutely," she smiled at him. "But we have to be discreet. I'll make it at my apartment so no one accidentally stumbles upon it."

"Thank you," Ryan hugged her.

Derek watched the scene from across the yard as he sat with Penelope's brothers on one of the picnic tables.

"Has that happened before?" Tim asked. "Has he ever called you guys mom and dad before today?"

"He's come close a couple times," Derek told them. "But he stops himself. He did call me dad once, but he was halfway between being awake and asleep. So I don't think he remembers."

"They are definitely two of a kind," Michael commented. "Penny used to be the same way."

"What do you mean?" Derek looked at them.

"She knew from an early age that we weren't her biological family." Joe said. "She had a hard time being able to call our dad her dad."

"We think she may have subconsciously remembered what her real dad did to her, and it frightened her that another parent would do that to her again." Tim added.

"She was five before she called him dad," Michael told him. "After she had a talk with Tim. Whatever he said convinced her."

"What'd you say to her?" Derek looked at Tim.

"That is still a private conversation between her and me," he told him. "I may have to have the same conversation with Ryan."

"It's ready!" Dave called. "Come and get it!"

Everyone gathered around the grill to get some lunch and sat at the picnic tables. Ryan ran up to Derek as he got all of their food for the three of them.

"So what were you two talking about?" Derek looked at them.

"Private convo," Ryan stated.

"All I can say is that it's about Halloween," Penelope told him. "Leave it be."

"Backing off," Derek smiled at them as they all sat down with her brothers.

* * *

Everyone left Dave and Fran's in the early evening to enjoy the rest of their day off as much as they could. Penelope was dropping her brothers off at the airport after taking them to Derek's house to show them where she spent most of her time; and Ryan wanted to show his new uncles his room.

"Penelope and Jack and Henry fixed it up," Ryan told them. "JJ and Will helped Jack and Henry paint it."

"Cool room," Tim looked around at all the toys, games and books that were set up in his room.

"We should probably get going," Michael said. "Our flight leaves soon."

"We got a little time," Tim gave them a look. "I'm still looking around."

"Meet you downstairs," they gave him a knowing look.

"Did you actually read all these books?" Tim saw both book cases filled to capacity.

"Not all of them," Ryan said. "Maybe about a quarter."

"So I want to talk to you," Tim told him.

"About what?"

"I'm not going to pretend that I didn't hear what you called Penelope earlier today." Ryan remained silent as Tim led him over to sit on his bed. "I know your real parents weren't the greatest, but that doesn't mean that you're betraying them if you call someone else mom and dad."

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes your family isn't the ones who gave you life but the ones who give you a life worth living,"

"Tim, we have to go!" Michael called up the stairs.

"Think about it kid," Tim looked at Ryan. "I'll be back out to see you soon."

"Really?"

"Count on it," Tim smiled at him as they walked downstairs.

"It was nice meeting all of you," Derek shook each of their hands.

"We gave Penny all our email addresses," Joe told him. "So we'll expect invites for Skype and all that."

"Absolutely," Derek smiled at them.

"I'll be back in a little bit," Penelope told them.

"Take your time, Baby Girl." Derek smiled at her as she walked out with all of her brothers and looked at Ryan. "We need to make sure you have everything for school tomorrow."

"I'll get my book bag," Ryan went to the entryway, where he left it sitting.

* * *

More than an hour later, Penelope returned to the house and smiled when she saw Ryan and Derek sitting on the couch.

"Isn't it past someone's bedtime?" she asked them.

"He wanted to wait for you," Derek told her. "He wants you to read to him."

"Please?" Ryan looked at her.

"Oh, that look."

"That's how he got me." Derek told her.

"Come on," Ryan started to pull them up the stairs.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Derek asked him as they reached his room.

"Yes," Ryan climbed onto the bed and grabbed the Harry Potter book that they were almost to the middle of.

"Alright," Penelope opened the book to where Derek had placed the bookmark.

Ryan snuggled into Penelope as she read the chapter to him, adding in all the different voices as well. He was still awake by the time that she had finished the chapter.

"All right," Derek got off the bed as Penelope put the book up again. "Time for bed. No excuses this time."

"Good night," Penelope kissed Ryan on the cheek as she pulled the covers up over him. "We'll see you in the morning."

"Good night mom, good night dad." They both stopped and looked at him in shock as he just smiled at them. "What? I figure that it's time."

"Tim talked to you," Penelope concluded. "Did he tell you a little phrase by chance?"

"Maybe," Ryan smiled at her. "Is it ok if I call you mom and dad?"

"It's more than ok," Derek told him. "But only if you want to. No one will force you to."

"I know, and I want to."

"Then nothing would make us happier," Derek smiled at him. "Good night."

"Night," Ryan mumbled as they turned out his light and left the room.

"Greatest. Feeling. In. The. World." Derek stated as they reached downstairs.

"Agreed," Penelope nodded.

"So what phrase did your brother tell him?" he looked at her.

"Sometimes your family isn't the ones who gave you life but the ones who give you a life worth living,"

"Deep,"

"He told me that a lot when I was growing up," she told him. "It was basically his way of telling me that I was part of the family when everyone else made me believe otherwise."

"Smart kid," Derek smiled as his phone started to ring and he clicked it on. "This is Morgan….Gloria, hey….yeah, I can do that….ok, see you then."

"Ryan's social worker?" Penelope asked and he nodded. "Why is she calling so late?"

"She wants to have a meeting tomorrow morning," he told her. "She assures me that there's nothing wrong. She just wants to update us on a few things."

"Oh," Penelope sighed. "That still makes me nervous though."

"Yeah, me too." Derek started to clean everything up before they headed up to bed for the night.

* * *

 _ **AN: Cliffhanger! So what'd you all think of this? What do you think Gloria has to tell them at the meeting? PLZ R &R!**_


	30. Chapter 30: Accepting Family

_**AN: So I wanted to get a chapter out before I left for my trip. By this time next week, I will be in the Dominican welcoming the warm weather and happy to be wearing flip-flops! Sorry if it sounds like I'm bragging, but I am sooo over the cold! I will try to get another chapter of Abduction out for you guys before next week, but I can't promise anything. Anyway, I hope you like this. PLZ R &R!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: See First Chapter.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 30: Accepting Family**

Penelope came downstairs on Monday morning as she saw Ryan helping Derek finish loading up the dishwasher. Ryan went off to get his book bag as Derek started making Ryan's sandwich for his lunch and Ryan started placing items in his lunchbag. Derek looked up and smiled at her as she helped them finish getting ready.

"Ok," Derek zipped up the lunch bag and Ryan put it in his book bag. "I think we have everything."

"Let's head out then," Penelope smiled at them.

"We don't all have to go every day when I have school," Ryan commented as they pulled away.

"What do you mean?" Derek glanced back at him.

"Only one of you has to drop me off and pick me up. One of you can sleep in. It doesn't have to be a big spectacle."

"Are you kidding?" Penelope smiled back at him. "I live for this. Besides, I will be doing this a lot more when I move in officially and your dad's out of town on a case."

"Ok," Ryan shrugged as they pulled up to his school. "I like it when you're both waiting for me after school."

"Have fun today, buddy." Derek called as he opened the door and started to climb out of the car.

"Bye mom, bye dad!" Ryan called as he closed the door and ran over to Malachi and Keaton, who were waiting for him by the front doors.

"I will never tire of that," Derek smiled as he pulled away.

"Me either," she told him.

"So did you mean it?" he looked over at her.

"What?"

"About you moving in officially. Do you want to because I would have no objections if we went over to your apartment and packed everything up right this minute."

"I'm thinking about it," she smiled.

"Is there a time frame?"

"After the holidays,"

"You need two more months to think about it?"

"No, I need to be able to hide certain things there."

"Like Ryan's Halloween costume?" she nodded at him. "You really won't tell me what he's going as?"

"He wants to keep it top secret until Trick-or-Treating."

"But he told you,"

"I'm making it," she rolled her eyes. "Now hush up about it. We need to get to Gloria's office."

"Right," Derek sped up a little to make their appointment.

They walked into the complex where the offices for child services were. Derek informed the receptionist that they were there for an appointment and they both sat down in a couple chairs to wait.

"This is so nerve-wracking," Derek sighed.

"Just relax," Penelope told him as a door opened and Gloria stood smiling at them.

"Derek, Penelope, come on in."

They both got up and Derek took her hand as they silently walked into her office and sat in the chairs in front of her desk.

"First the good news," she handed them a set of papers. "Dawn and Frank Atwood's parental rights have officially been revoked."

"Really?" Derek looked at the signatures on the bottom of the page.

"They really have no merit with them both being behind a couple of jail cells."

"So that means that we can petition for the adoption right?"

"Yes," Gloria said slowly.

"What's the bad news?" Penelope asked. "You started the conversation saying you had good news, which means that you also have bad news."

"Baby, you're rambling almost as bad as Reid." Derek took her hand and looked at Gloria. "So do you have bad news?"

"The Cohen's have not filed an appeal yet," Gloria assured them. "But I have been in contact with the social worker that Ryan had when he was in Newport. Her name is Rachel and she had some interesting things to tell me."

"Like what?"

"First, she suspects that Mrs. Cohen willl be filing an appeal soon. She doesn't give up on things easily," she handed them another set of papers. "However, she won't have much of a case."

"Why not?" Penelope asked.

"Mr. Cohen isn't on board with it," Derek handed her the paper. "This is an official statement from Sandy Cohen."

"Rachel forwarded it to me last night," Gloria told them. "Unless both parties of a married couple file the appeal together, they have no case."

"So then what's the problem?"

"The problem is that she comes from money, and I would assume that she's seen her father work the system through the years."

"So Ryan could still be taken away from me," Derek sighed.

"Not if I can help it," Gloria stated firmly. "Ryan is happy with you. How is he doing in school?"

"Excellent," Derek smiled. "I got the school's assessment a few days ago. They enrolled him in the advanced learning program and he's reading at an eighth grade level. He also made a couple friends. He's been to their houses a couple times."

"Very good," Gloria smiled. "And his therapy?"

"He fights me on it, but I still make him go." Derek told her. "The therapist assures me that he's adjusting well."

"You are doing everything right," Gloria assured them.

They left her office a little while later, with her assuring them that if anything new came up then she would let them know. They both climbed back into the car and Derek sighed as he started up the car.

"It's almost lunchtime," Penelope told him. "Want to get some lunch and go home and engage in some extracurricular activities before we have to pick up Ryan?"

"I love it when you try to distract me," He smiled over at her.

"So is that a yes then?"

"That is a definitely," he kissed her deeply as they pulled away from the office.

* * *

After school, Derek and Penelope pulled up to the school to pick up Ryan. They smiled as they saw him talking to Malachi and Keaton. He spotted them and ran over and got into the back seat.

"How was school?" Derek asked him.

"I got an A on my collage for Art," he told them. "And I have a writing assignment in Language Arts. I have to write about something exciting that happened this weekend."

"I think that will be easy," Derek glanced back at him. "Meeting all your new uncles and getting to hang out with them."

"Where are we going?" Ryan saw that Derek had missed the turn that would take them to the house.

"We have a surprise for you,"

"What's the surprise?"

"You'll see," Penelope smiled at him. "But we invited Henry and Jack too."

The rest of the way there, Ryan kept trying to get them to reveal where they were going, but they wouldn't budge. He finally gave up right before Derek slowed the car down and they pulled into a dirt parking lot. They all got out of the car as they saw JJ and Will coming towards them with Henry.

"Aunt JJ, Uncle Will!" Ryan ran to them as they looked back at Derek shocked.

"It started last night," Derek smiled at them. "After he talked to Tim."

"Wyan," Henry smiled at him.

"There's Hotch," Penelope smiled as she saw him and Jack walking towards them.

"I'm surprised that Emily didn't tag along," Derek mumbled as they reached them.

"Hi Uncle Aaron," Ryan smiled at him.

"Hey, kiddo." He looked at Derek.

"So where are we?" Ryan asked them.

"We at punkin patch," Jack told him.

"We're each going to pick out a pumpkin," Derek told him. "Then we'll carve them tonight and set them up outside."

"I've never carved a pumpkin before."

"We'll help you," Penelope told him. "And you can help me decorate the house for Halloween."

"Ok," he smiled at her.

"The truck's here," Will told them.

"They take us on a hayride before we get to the pumpkin patch." Derek told Ryan. They all loaded onto the back of the truck and got settled as the truck slowly started moving. Ryan was settled in between Derek and Penelope as he watched the open field pass them by as they got closer to the pumpkin patch.

* * *

Seth Cohen sat at the kitchen island doodling in his sketchbook as he listened to his parents fighting in the next room. They didn't know that he could hear them argue about their meeting with Ryan's former social worker.

"We should just move forward," Kirsten glared at her husband. "We already know that Frank and Dawn have no rights in regards to Ryan."

"He's in a loving environment," Sandy argued. "I can't believe that you want to win so much that you're willing to make a little boy miserable."

"He won't be miserable here. He has Seth-"

"That's all he has here. He doesn't get along with any of the other kids, or the adults for that matter."

"What's going on?" they both looked up and saw Caleb Nichol coming through the door. "I could hear you before I even put my car in park."

"Dad-" Kirsten started.

"Not knocking, Cal?" Sandy looked at him.

"It's my house." He glared at him. "Now why are you fighting?"

"It's about Ryan," Seth appeared in the doorway.

"Ryan? That little street punk-"

"Dad!" Kirsten interrupted him.

"Ryan found a new family," Seth said. "Me and dad want him to stay where he is because he's happy, but mom wants to rip him away from his happiness."

"Seth, that's not exactly how it is." Kirsten looked at her son.

"Isn't it?" Sandy looked at his wife. "You'd rather have the upper hand and see him miserable than keep him where he is and have him be happy."

"I just can't believe you wrote that statement,"

"Rachel wanted my honest opinion. Even she doesn't think we should pursue this."

Caleb had managed to slip out of the house again while his daughter and son-in-law where in the middle of another fight. He pulled out of the driveway as he pushed a button on his car phone.

"Yeah Steve," he spoke into the phone. "I need you to do something for me. I need you to look into the whereabouts of Ryan Atwood. I want to make sure he stays where he is. It'll be a cold day in hell before I let him dirty our doorstep again."

* * *

Derek smiled as he loaded up the back of the car with all the pumpkins they had picked out. He looked up and smiled as he saw Penelope getting the boys another cup of hot cider.

"So he's calling you guys mom and dad," JJ came up to him. "And us his aunt and uncles."

"Yep," Morgan smiled at her. "Greatest feeling in the world, I tell you."

"It is," she nodded. "But what brought it on? What exactly did Tim say to him?"

"That's a private conversation between the two of them," Morgan led her back to where Will and Hotch were. "But apparently, he had the same conversation with Baby Girl all throughout her childhood."

"How's it going with you two?" Will asked. "Are there going to be any big announcements coming up?"

"She let slip today that she's thinking about moving in with us officially soon."

"That's great," JJ hugged Derek tightly. "How soon are we talking?"

"She said she wants to keep her apartment until after the holidays. For the sole reason of hiding presents there."

"That's how long she said she's keeping the apartment," Hotch spoke up. "Not that she wants to move in after."

"I guess she didn't really specify when she wants to move in." Derek looked at them.

"So you never know," JJ smiled at him. "She may decide to move in soon."

"I hope so,"

"Dad," Ryan ran upto them.

"How many of those have you had?" Derek saw another full cup of cider in his hands.

"It's his third one," Penelope came back to them with Henry and Jack.

"You are cut off," Derek told him. "So the pumpkins are all loaded up. You still need to do your homework and we need to get some supper. So we should head out."

"We should too," JJ picked up Henry. "This was fun though."

"It really was," Hotch told them as they all started towards their cars.

* * *

Ryan and Penelope designed and carved their pumpkins as Derek fried up some bacon for their BLT's that they were having. He walked over to the counter as they put the finishing touches on them and smiled.

"Excellent job," he told them as he placed everything on the table. "Let's eat."

"Wait, let's video chat with nana so she can see the pumpkins."

"I'll call her," Penelope opened up her laptop and dialed Rossi's number.

"Hey Kitten," Dave came on the screen. "What do we owe this special call?"

"Ryan wants to show you guys something," she smiled as Fran came onto the screen as well.

"What's happened?" she asked them.

"Nana, we went to the pumpkin patch today," Ryan came over to them. "We carved them already. Want to see?"

"S-Sure," Fran stuttered once she realized what Ryan had called her.

"Now that is awesome," Dave smiled as Penelope moved the computer to show them the line of carved pumpkins.

"Oh, they're having a Grandparent's Day at my school in a few weeks," Ryan told them. "Can you guys come?"

"I will definitely be there," Fran smiled at him.

"I will be there unless we have a case." Dave told him.

They all chatted for a little longer until Derek came on and told them that they needed to sit down for supper. Penelope shut down the laptop and they all gathered around the table and started to make their BLT's.

* * *

 _ **AN: So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. PLZ R &R!**_


	31. Chapter 31: Ryan's Superhero

_**AN: So I'm back from my trip to the Dominican. It was such a beautiful place. I highly recommend you guys going there if you ever get the chance.**_

 _ **It's after midnight and I'm exhausted, still not having caught up on my sleep. But I wanted to get this chapter out for you guys before I crashed for the night. I hope you like this. PLZ R &R!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: See first chapter.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 31: Ryan's Superhero**

The next couple of weeks went by in a blur. It was spent with the three of them becoming a family unit and getting into more of a routine. Penelope spent pretty much all of her free time at Derek's as he kept subtly bringing up the subject of them living together on a more permanent basis. She always brushed him off, but he could tell that she was definitely mulling it over.

Both Derek and Penelope signed up to be parent volunteers at Ryan's Fall Festival at his school. It wasn't like the Halloween celebrations that they remember having when they both were in school, but they still enjoyed it all the same. Penelope made a few special snacks for Ryan and his classmates, and there were games played, prizes were given out, and new family experiences for the three of them.

In the week leading up to Halloween, Penelope and Ryan spent all their available free time decorating the house-both inside and out. Now everytime Derek walked in or out of the house, strobe lights pretty much blinded him, much to the enjoyment and glee of Ryan. During all that time, Penelope disappeared for hours at a time. Derek assumed it was about Ryan's top-secret costume, which they all were starting to get curious about. But both Ryan and Penelope remained tight-lipped about it.

Finally, the big day arrived and everyone made plans to meet at Derek's house before taking the kids out Trick-Or-Treating. Penelope had left early that morning to go get Ryan's costume so that she could make changes to it as needed.

* * *

Penelope silently walked through the door and carefully peered around for any sign of Derek. After not seeing him, she closed the door behind her and started up the stairs with the garment bag.

"Hey!" Derek came out of the kitchen, startling her. "Is that it?"

"Maybe," she turned to face him.

"So can I see it?"

"No!" Ryan came into them. "Not until Trick-Or-Treating!"

"Go," Penelope quickly gave Ryan the bag. "I'll be up there in a little bit to see if we need to make any adjustments."

"Got it," Ryan rushed up the stairs before Derek could stop him.

"Come on," Derek pleaded with Penelope. "Can't you give me a hint?"

"Only that it's a superhero that is very important to Ryan,"

"Baby Girl," he sighed.

"If you need something to occupy yourself, you can start to get ready for tonight."

"Get ready?"

"I got you a costume," she smiled at him. "It's on your bed."

"I don't do costumes,"

"This year you will," she stated firmly.

"Baby-"

"It's Ryan's first Halloween with us," she explained. "He can't remember ever celebrating it before. We are going to make this special for him, so that means that everyone who goes tonight will be in a costume."

"Everyone?"

"I sent out a mass text message to them a few weeks ago. They all gladly agreed."

"Fine," Derek relented, knowing that it was better to give up than to continue arguing with her.

"Now go try it on," she urged. "I'll be in to help you with the makeup."

"Whoa, makeup?"

"Relax," she smiled at him. "It's all very manly."

He smiled after her as she started upstairs. God he loved her. She always managed to talk him into things that he didn't want to do, but he always ended up having fun anyway because he was with her. He silently walked up the stairs past Ryan's closed bedroom door as he heard whispers, and walked into his bedroom. He spotted the garment bag lying across the bed and went to go open it. He sighed as he saw the red cape sticking out of it.

"Really?"

"Yes really," he turned to see Penelope coming into the room.

"But-"

"It goes well with what I'll be wearing."

"And what will you be wearing?"

"You'll never know unless you put that on,"

"Ok, you win." He sighed as he took the garments out of the bag.

"As per usual," she smiled at him. "Now everyone will be meeting us here in a little more than an hour. Put that on and I'll help you get the makeup on."

"Aren't you supposed to be helping Ryan with his costume?"

"I had to make a couple of adjustments and he's trying it on right now."

"Ok," Derek went into the bathroom and started to get ready.

* * *

Derek was just coming downstairs in his full getup when the doorbell rang. He went to open the door and let everyone in as they took in his wardrobe.

"Love the costume Morgan," Hotch commented.

They all filed into the kitchen as they took in Derek's full-on Dracula getup. Dark jeans, dark shirt, red and black cape with the collar sticking up, white makeup covering his face with a little bit of red dripping down from his mouth, where a pair of fake fangs rested.

"I thought you were boycotting the whole costume thing," JJ commented.

"Penelope decided not to listen to me," he told them.

"Good for her," Fran stated. "It's Ryan's first Halloween with us. We need to go all out for this."

"Pretty much the same thing she told me," Derek said as he took in everyone else's costumes.

Jack, Hotch and Emily decided to coordinate their costumes. Jack was dressed as Batman, with Emily as Batgirl, and Hotch decided to go as the villain with his Joker getup.

JJ, Henry and Will also coordinated their costumes. Henry was dressed as Spiderman, while JJ was Spider-Girl and Will was the Green Goblin. In true Reid fashion, he was dressed up as Doctor Who. As for Dave and Fran, they just decided to dress up as a couple of glow-in-the-dark skeletons.

"You two couldn't put a little bit of effort into it?" Derek looked at his mom and step-dad.

"Most of the costume choices for adults are a little too out there for us," Dave looked at his step-son.

"Fran!" they heard Penelope call from upstairs. "We need your help!"

"Coming!" she started up the stairs as everyone just looked at each other.

Fran approached Ryan's door as she saw it cracked open a sliver. It opened just enough for her to walk in and she did so as Penelope shut it abruptly behind her.

"Don't worry, no one followed me up." She told her as she saw Ryan standing in the middle of the room in his costume. "Oh my-"

"It's missing something," Penelope told her. "I just can't put my finger on what."

"Where's Derek's go-bag?" Fran asked.

"I think it's in his closet," Penelope told her. "I saw him packing it the other day."

"I'll be right back," Fran left the room, leaving the other two to look bewildered.

Fran returned a couple minutes later and helped Penelope make the needed adjustments to Ryan's costume.

"Perfect," Fran smiled as she snapped a few pictures.

"Are we ready to debut this getup to your dad?" Penelope looked at Ryan.

"Yeah," Ryan smiled as they all started out of the room.

* * *

Everyone was getting antsy downstairs as they tried to wait patiently for Ryan, Penelope and Fran to come down to them. Derek made sure he had everything they would need for that night as he glanced at the time again.

"Trick-Or-Treating is starting!" Derek called towards the stairs.

"Calm down," Fran appeared first. "Are you all ready for this?"

"Something tells me that I need to get this on film," Dave took out his phone as they all saw Penelope come downstairs.

Penelope was in a full-on Elvira costume; long black dress, black wig, black fingernail polish and dark makeup completed the costume.

"Looking good, Kitten." Dave told her.

"A tribute to my Goth days," she smiled at all of them.

"So where is Ryan?" Derek approached the stairs. "I want to see this costume that had to remain top-secret until now."

"Ok kid, you're on!" Penelope called up the stairs.

They all watched as Ryan slowly descended the stairs as he came down to them. He was dressed in dark jeans with a dark t-shirt. There was a fake gun holster fastened around his waist with a fake gun and handcuffs hanging from it. There was a pair of adult sunglasses clipped to the front of his shirt as well.

"Do you like it?" Ryan asked softly.

"It's great," Derek crouched down in front of him. "But I am stumped. Who are you supposed to be?"

"He's you, Uncle Derek." Jack spoke up.

"He is absolutely right," Penelope removed something from the back pocket of Ryan's jeans. "And here's the proof: Fake but authentic-looking credentials courtesy of the art department of my theatre company."

"I love it," Derek smiled. "Are you sure-"

"Go on," Penelope urged Ryan. "Tell him."

"Tell me what?" Derek looked at Ryan.

"Spiderman has his spidey sense and Batman has his gadgets, but you did something that none of them can." Ryan stated.

"And what's that?"

"You saved me," Ryan smiled at him before wrapping his arms tightly around him.

Everyone else smiled at the scene before them as both Derek and Ryan tried their best not to cry in front of all of them. After they both calmed down, everyone got pictures of each others' costumes before they all headed out to start Trick-Or-Treating.

They returned to Derek's place a few hours later once all the kids' bags were a few pounds heavier and loaded down with candy that should've lasted them for the next year. Everyone converged in the kitchen as Penelope got out some cups and a couple gallons of cider. Derek went upstairs to wash all his face paint off as Henry, Jack and Ryan started going through all their candy.

"Only one piece for tonight," Derek came back downstairs patting dry his face with a towel. "So make it a good one."

"Congratulations Morgan, you survived your first Halloween." Will told him as he handed him a cup of cider.

"The true test is whether or not you wake up to Ryan throwing up because he ate too much candy that he managed to sneak before bedtime." Hotch added.

"Bring it on," Derek smiled at them.

"So if it's all right with everybody I have an announcement to make," Penelope spoke up and they all turned their attention to her.

"What's going on?" Derek looked at her concerned.

"It's nothing bad, I promise." She smiled at him. "I wanted to tell you this in private, but these guys have been involved with our relationship long before it ever started so…."

"The floor is all yours," Derek sat down on one of the stools.

"Ok," Penelope started. "I have made a big decision, the biggest decision that I've ever made in any of my relationships. I credit JJ and Emily for helping me to make this decision, along with my newly-found brothers, thanks to Ryan, and my new sister-in-laws."

"I'm a little confused," Derek said.

"You're not the only one," Reid commented.

"I've decided to move in here with my boys," Penelope announced.

"What?" Derek wanted to make sure he was hearing her right.

"Really?" Ryan came into them. "You're moving in here?"

"If it's ok with you guys,"

"It's more than ok," Derek leapt up from where he was sitting and twirled her around. "So you're certain about this?"

"Absolutely," she smiled as Ryan ran over to them. "I'm not putting my apartment on the market until the first of the year, but I will be moving in here soon."

"How soon?" Ryan asked.

"How soon do you want me to?"

"How about tomorrow?" Derek suggested.

"Tomorrow is good for me," she smiled at them. "But I will need some help packing and transporting all my stuff over here."

"We'll help you with that," Dave hugged her. "Congratulations. You three are already a family anyway."

"A toast," Emily announced as JJ poured them all some more cider. "To Penelope and Derek! And Ryan of course."

"Cheers!" Everyone called out as Derek kissed Penelope deeply, not caring that he was putting on a display for all of them.

"Thank you," he whispered as they finally pulled apart.

"For what?" she looked at him.

"For making me the happiest man alive right now."

"Well thank you for being so patient with me," she told him. "I know you were getting impatient with me-"

"Never," he interrupted her. "I will wait for you forever if I have to."

"I love you," she smiled at him.

"I love you too," he started to kiss her again as he faintly heard the rest of the team starting to protest at their display.

* * *

 _ **AN: So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. PLZ R &R!**_

 _ **So what did everyone think of last night's episode? I think Shemar Moore did an extremely superb job. If that performance doesn't earn him some kind of award nomination at the very least then I will be very upset.**_

 _ ******SPOILER******_

 _ **As for Savannah's pregnancy and Derek's proposal, I was absolutely giddy at the end of the episode with the hospital scene. I am a Morcia fan through and through, but that scene at the end made me cry tears of happiness.**_

 _ **What did all of you think?**_


	32. Chapter 32: Weekend Interruption

_**AN:** Another update for all of you. I hope you like this. PLZ R &R!_

 ** _Disclaimer:_** _See first chapter._

* * *

 **Chapter 32: Weekend Interruption**

The morning after their Halloween celebration, Ryan and Derek were up early; chomping at the bit to get Penelope packed up and moved in with them. Penelope had a slower start that morning not having gotten a lot of sleep the night before after having celebrated with Derek long after everyone left for the night and they had managed to get Ryan settled in for bed.

"Mom, wake up!" Ryan ran into the master bedroom and jumped onto the bed.

"Morning," she smiled at him.

"Come on," he started to pull her off the bed. "You need to get up and have breakfast so we can go get you packed up and moved in."

"It's still early," Penelope looked at the clock. "We have all day."

"I think dad's afraid that you're going to change your mind,"

"I won't ever change my mind about moving in here with my boys," Penelope slowly sat up and pulled him to her. "It's the best decision I've ever made and I will never regret it."

"That's good to hear," Derek came into them. "So my mom just got here."

"Nana," Ryan scrambled off the bed and ran from the room.

"Why is your mom here?" Penelope looked at Derek. "I thought we decided that we were all meeting at the apartment."

"Do you remember giving Dave a key a few years ago?"

"For emergencies,"

"Apparently they all constitute this as an emergency."

"Who is they?"

"The team," he told her. "Apparently we all had the same idea; that you would get cold feet and back out."

"Well I won't," she assured him. "I promise."

"I am very glad to hear that," he kissed her deeply. "Anyway, so Dave went to get some boxes early this morning and they're all over at the apartment right now packing up your things. Jack and Henry are downstairs with my mom."

"I guess I better get some breakfast and we should get over there soon," she started to climb out of bed. "I'm not planning on bringing everything over right now. Just the essentials for now."

"Let's go Sweetness," he led her out of the room and downstairs where Henry and Jack were sitting at the table with Fran and Ryan.

"You're still coming next week right?" Ryan was asking Fran.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world," she told him. "This is my first Grandparents Day."

"I never had any of my grandparents show up for anything before," Ryan told her.

"Well all that changes now," Fran smiled at him as she spotted Derek and Penelope coming into them. "Good morning. Did you sleep ok?"

"Kind of," Penelope went to make herself some toast.

"Nerves?"

"No, something else." Penelope glanced at Derek, who turned his attention to the boys at the table.

"Don't go any further," Fran held her hand up. "As long as you didn't change your mind about things."

"I will never change my mind about being with your son." Penelope told her.

"Good," Fran smiled.

"So you guys will be staying here while Penelope and I go and pack up her things to bring over here," Derek told the boys. "I want you to be good for my mom while we're gone."

"We're always good," Jack said.

"Yeah, ok." Derek smiled at him.

A little while later, Penelope was finishing getting dressed upstairs as Ryan booted up the XBOX so he could show Jack and Henry his new game. Penelope came downstairs and gathered her things as Derek finished cleaning up.

"Make sure he spends no more than twenty minutes on that game," Derek told his mom. "Half hour at the most. He knows the rules."

"It's just so strange," Fran shook her head.

"What?" he looked at her questioningly.

"You being all parental,"

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Not at all," she smiled at him. "Your dad would be so proud of you."

"You really think so?"

"I know so," she assured him as the doorbell sounded.

"I'll get it!" Ryan called.

"Not without me," Penelope followed him to the door.

She slowly opened the door to see an older gentleman dressed in a leisure suit. There was an atmosphere around him that made her think that he thought that people should just give in to him no matter what he asked of them.

"May I help you?" he looked familiar to her, but she couldn't place it.

"I'm looking for Derek Morgan,"

"And you are?"

"I have some business to discuss with Agent Morgan,"

"Well you're not going to see him until I know your name, understand?"

"Fine, I'm Caleb Nichol-"

"Oh god," she looked for Ryan and spotted him hiding behind the door.

She knew he looked familiar; she had done a lot of research on not only him but his entire business empire and all his employees and associates after she heard from Derek how he had treated Ryan when he was still in Newport. She turned to Ryan and noticed his wide eyes as he started to shake.

"Ryan, look at me." she knelt down in front of him and he slowly looked her in the eyes. "I want you to go get your dad ok? And tell Nana Fran to call Dave."

Ryan didn't move from his spot partially hidden behind the door. Penelope took his hand and he startled as he came out of what appeared to be a trance.

"Go get your dad buddy," she told him and he ran off to the kitchen.

"Aunt Pen?" Jack approached her.

"Jack, take Henry and go into the kitchen." She told him. "And stay there until I come get you."

"Ok," he took Henry's hand and led him away.

"Are you going to do the polite thing and invite me in?" Caleb Nichol asked after having to watch the scenes with the boys unfold.

"You're not polite, so why should I be?" she turned back to glare at him.

"Excuse me? Do you know who I am?"

"I know all about you," Penelope stated. "Caleb Nichol, greedy little business man who thinks the entire world should cater to his every demand."

"Now see here-" he stepped forward.

"Derek!"

* * *

Ryan ran into the kitchen and went straight to Derek, clinging to him tightly.

"Ryan?" he picked him up and he immediately wrapped his arms around his neck very tightly. "What's the matter buddy?"

"Uncle Derek," Jack came into the kitchen, clutching Henry's hand tightly. "Aunt Pen said to stay in here until she came and got us."

"Why?"

"There's a man at the door. He looks mean."

"Derek!" Penelope's voice called out.

"I got him," Fran managed to loosen Ryan's grip on Derek and took him in her arms. "Go check it out."

Derek walked down the hall and to the front door, where Penelope stood facing a stern-looking older gentleman.

"What's going on?" he asked her.

"Meet Caleb Nichol," Penelope looked at him.

"Ma!" Derek called back. "Call Dave! Tell him it's Caleb Nichol!"

"I'm on it!" she called back.

"So why are you here, Mr. Nichol?" Derek turned back to him.

"I'd say he's either here to threaten us or to pay us off," Penelope told him.

"You're probably right," Derek nodded.

"Now see here," Caleb started.

"No," Derek stated. "You are trespassing. You are not welcome on this property. Especially since you just petrified my son."

* * *

JJ and Emily had just taped up the boxes they were filling and started to fill a couple more when Dave's phone started to ring. They looked up as they heard concern in his voice.

"I'll call the precinct," Dave was saying. "See if Derek can keep him there until we arrive. We all know how men like him think. He'll try to spin this so that he's the victim in the situation."

"What's going on?" Will asked as Dave hung up the phone.

"I know you're not on duty, but call your buddies on the force." Dave told him. "It seems that Caleb Nichol showed up at Derek's house. Completely terrified Ryan."

"Are Jack and Henry all right?" Emily asked.

"They're fine, just a little confused."

"I'll call work," Will took out his phone.

"I'll call Gloria," Hotch took out his phone. "Ryan's social worker. She'll want to know about this."

A little while later, they all pulled up to Derek's house and saw the local law enforcement already there and talking with Derek and Penelope at the front door. Another car pulled in behind them and Gloria climbed out of her car and approached the group.

"Thank you for calling me," she told Hotch. "This doesn't bode well for Mrs. Cohen, but for Derek…I'd say he'll be getting some good news soon."

"This is all a mistake," Caleb Nichol was handcuffed to the door handle of a squad car. "They're lying. I never scared the boy."

"I haven't heard their statement yet," the officer smiled smugly. "Care to dig yourself even deeper into that hole you're starting to dig for yourself?"

"Check his breast pocket," Dave told the officer. "If he's like every other businessman, I'd say he came here looking to bribe someone."

"Well look at what I found here," the officer fished out a personal checkbook. "A check has already been written out to Derek Morgan. And the amount was left blank. Bribing a federal agent-"

"You can't prove a thing," Caleb ranted.

"That's the problem with people like you," Dave stood face-to-face with Caleb. "I bet you thought you could come here and bribe Derek with more money than he could imagine just so you wouldn't have to deal with the nuisance that is Ryan."

"There's just one problem with that," Penelope came off the porch. "Derek doesn't need to be bribed. We want to keep Ryan with us where he wants to be and where he belongs. You be sure to tell your daughter that when you're allowed back in the state of California."

"Why wouldn't I be allowed back in my home state?"

"You'll be spending a couple nights in jail," Hotch told him harshly. "At least. Threatening a federal agent doesn't go unpunished. And you can forget about your fancy lawyers trying to get you out anytime soon. I used to be a lawyer and I still know all the loop holes just like they claim to."

"Caleb Nichol," the arresting officer shoved him in the back of his squad car. "You are under arrest for trespassing on private property, attempting to bribe a federal agent, threatening a federal agent…."

"Let's go check on Ryan," JJ told them all. "And Henry is probably confused."

"Can't we do something to that guy?" Emily asked. "Other than him getting arrested?"

"Once I get my laptop-" Penelope started.

"I don't hear anything Garcia," Hotch told her.

"No you don't, Bossman." She smiled at him.

"Thanks for coming guys," Derek told them as they all walked inside.

"Family sticks together," Dave told him as he spotted Fran holding Ryan in her arms as Jack and Henry sat at the table eating goldfish crackers.

"Come here buddy," Derek took Ryan from his mom. "Why don't we go upstairs and talk?"

"I'll come with you," Penelope glanced back at Gloria. "Unless-"

"I have a couple calls to make," Gloria told them. "But I will need to look around a bit and I'll need to talk to Ryan before I leave today."

"Not a problem," Derek told her. "I just need to calm him down first."

"Take your time," Gloria took out her phone.

"Are you ok buddy?" Hotch went to Jack.

"Dad, who was that man?" Jack looked up at him.

"He's a very mean man that scared Ryan before we met him."

"He needs to stay away from Ryan,"

"I totally agree," Emily stated as she glanced around the room. "This is new. What is all this?"

"What?" JJ looked at her as she held Henry.

"It looks like a list of rules for Ryan," Emily told her. "Along with chore lists and privileges he can earn."

"He's been working on that the last couple of days," Fran told them. "He can't just be his buddy. He has to be his parent; he'll have to discipline him eventually."

"I can imagine that's hard for him," Will commented.

"You should've heard him earlier before all this excitement happened. He told me that Ryan gets no more than twenty minutes on the XBOX at a time."

"It is very strange for me to see Morgan like this,"

* * *

Derek took Ryan into the master bedroom and sat with him on the bed. Penelope followed after them and watched as Derek attempted to pry Ryan off his neck.

"It's ok buddy," Derek loosened Ryan's grip and sat him on the bed beside him as Penelope sat on the other side of him. "Caleb Nichol is long gone. He won't be coming back here."

"I don't like him," Ryan said softly.

"I don't either," Derek told him.

"He's a bad man,"

"Yes he is,"

"Why was he here?" Ryan looked at Derek.

"Ok, I need to tell you something." Derek looked at Penelope and she nodded. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but I decided to wait and see if anything came of it."

"What do you mean?"

"Ok, a few days after you moved in here and after you started your new school, Gloria stopped by to talk to us. She said that the Cohen's had found out you were here and were looking into our lives."

"Why?"

"Well we assumed that they wanted to take you from us,"

"Do they?"

"They haven't filed an appeal yet," Penelope assured him. "But even if they did, they wouldn't have a case."

"Why not?"

"Well Mr. Cohen saw our family website," Derek told him. "He saw all the pictures of you looking so happy with us and knew that it would be a mistake to take you away from us."

"So….what happens now?"

"Unfortunately, Mrs. Cohen hasn't given up."

"So I could still be taken away,"

"Gloria is doing everything she can to keep you right here." Derek held him. "She says that you are doing very well out here. You are excelling…."

* * *

A little while later, Derek, Penelope and Ryan emerged from upstairs. Ryan wasn't being carried, but he still looked a little glum. Gloria smiled as she approached them and Ryan clung to Derek's side.

"So he knows everything," Derek told her. "About the Cohen's-"

"Mr. Nichol was bribing Derek to keep me here," Ryan said softly.

"No one needs to pay me to keep you here," Derek told him and he nodded.

"Well I just got off the phone with the judge assigned the case…." Gloria started.

* * *

 _ **AN:** Cliffhanger! I do love to keep you guys hanging! LOL! I hope you liked this chapter. PLZ R&R!_


	33. Chapter 33: Acting Normal

_**AN:** Another update for all of you. I hope you like this. PLZ R &R!_

 ** _Disclaimer:_** _See first chapter._

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Acting Normal**

"I just got off the phone with the judge assigned to your case," Gloria told them all.

"And what'd he say?" Derek asked.

"Because of the holidays coming up, I tried pushing the court case up a few weeks." She explained to them. "After hearing what happened today, he agreed. Your case is next week."

"When next week?" Derek asked. "I'm supposed to go back to work on Monday."

"Don't worry," Hotch spoke up. "We'll just take local cases until after it's over."

"The preliminary court date is scheduled for Friday morning at eight," Gloria told them. "The Cohen's will be getting a summons within the next couple of hours. All parties need to be present."

"Now does Ryan have to be there?" Penelope asked and Derek looked at her. "I don't think he should go through that unless he has to."

"She's right," Derek agreed as he looked back at Gloria.

"Ryan does not have to be present," Gloria told them. "But that is why I will need to talk to Ryan privately."

"Is that ok buddy?" Derek looked down at Ryan and he nodded.

"Why don't we talk in your room?" Gloria looked at Ryan and he nodded.

"Ok," he said softly and started to lead her back upstairs.

"And this day started out so well," Derek sighed.

"We can still salvage this day," Dave spoke up. "Why don't we get Ryan's favorite food and have a day of doing all the things he likes."

"I'll call the pizza in," Fran reached for the phone.

"That's not his favorite food," Penelope told her. "I mean he likes pizza, it's just not his favorite food."

"What is his favorite food?"

"Mexican," Derek told them. "More specifically, fajitas. With guacamole, sour cream and salsa."

"Ok, here's what we'll do." Dave told everyone. "I'll run to the store and get everything to make the fajitas. Emily and JJ, take Penelope over to her old place and help her finish packing up her things because that was the only thing Ryan was looking forward to today."

"On it," Emily and JJ started pulling Penelope towards the door.

"While you're at the store, get all the fixings for sundaes." Penelope called before the door shut behind her.

"They love making them," Derek told Dave. "He likes the Reeses' Pieces toppings the best."

"I will make sure to get him some then," Dave told him as he and Fran walked towards the door.

* * *

Sandy Cohen silently hung up the phone and pinched the bridge of his nose as Kirsten came into his office. She saw how stressed he was and started to get concerned when he still didn't say anything five minutes after noticing she was in the room.

"Sandy?" she ventured and he finally looked at her. "What's got you so upset? Who was on the phone just now?"

"Rachel," he sighed. "A preliminary hearing has been scheduled to decide who gets custody of Ryan."

"Already?" she was shocked. "I was told that the judge wouldn't be able to see us until after the holidays."

"Well the little stunt your dad pulled a few hours ago made him push up the date."

"What are you talking about?"

"Seems that your father had one of his associates track down Ryan's whereabouts. He showed up at Agent Morgan's residence and proceeded to bribe him; to keep Ryan in his care."

"What? Why-"

"Are you really that blind?" Sandy demanded. "You never noticed how when Ryan was staying here he ran from the room whenever your father showed up? He was terrified of him."

"That's not true-"

"I found him hiding under Seth's bed after one of his visits," Sandy told her.

"Where is my father now?"

"He's probably still in the custody of the Metro police department. Aaron Hotchner, Agent Morgan's unit chief, used to be a lawyer. So he knows ways to keep your father stewing in a jail cell. And I don't see Agent Morgan dropping the charges anytime soon."

"What are the charges?"

"Trespassing on private property, bribing a federal agent, threatening a federal agent-"

"This is ridiculous,"

"The preliminary hearing is scheduled for next week; in DC."

* * *

Gloria finally left a few hours later. Ryan slowly came downstairs as he smelled what he assumed was supper cooking. He saw the front door open and JJ, Emily and Penelope came in carrying large cardboard boxes.

"You're still moving in today?" Ryan started to smile again.

"Of course," Penelope smiled back. "Do you think I'd let someone like him ruin the good day we were supposed to have?"

"Are you making fajitas?" Ryan saw Dave stirring something in a pan at the stove.

"I'm making up steak and chicken," Dave told him. "I wasn't sure which one you liked better."

"How'd you know I liked fajitas?"

"I told him," Derek came in and sat at the counter, flipping through a magazine.

"How'd you know?"

"I pay attention," he told him as he climbed onto the stool beside his.

"So we just decided to pack up all of her things instead of just the essentials like she wanted," Emily told him. "However, I'm not sure you have enough room-"

"Basement," Derek pointed to a door off the stairs. "Just put it all on the carpeted part. The cement part floods."

"On it," they all started unloading the boxes in the basement.

"So I was thinking," Derek put his magazine down and looked at Ryan. "We need to get you into another activity-if you want-since soccer ended months ago."

"Should we even do that?" Ryan asked. "What if-"

"Gloria said to go about things like normal," Derek interrupted him. "So we're going to assume that everything will stay the same."

"Because it will," Fran smiled at them as she chopped up the lettuce.

"Now is there anything that you would like to join?"

"Well…"

"What?"

"I think there's a message on your parent page on the school website."

"Hold on," Derek took his phone out and brought up the mobile app. "Karate?"

"It's not at the school though. They have lessons at the gym you go to."

"And you really want to do this?" Ryan nodded. "All right, I'll fill out the paperwork for it."

"There may be something else," Ryan said softly. "This one is held at school."

"Ok," Derek handed him his phone that was still on the school website. "Show me which one."

Ryan started scrolling and stopped it on a link and handed the phone back to Derek. He took his phone back and looked at Ryan.

"On one condition," Derek told him.

"What?" Ryan asked.

"I don't have to do it with you,"

"Deal," Ryan smiled at him.

"What is it?" Fran started grating the cheese.

"Horseback riding lessons."

"Morgan's taking horseback riding lessons?" Emily came back into them with JJ and Penelope. "This I have to see."

"Ryan is taking the lessons," Derek told them. "I did, however, ride once when I first met Ryan."

"I have pictures," Penelope started scrolling through her phone.

"How do you have pictures?" Derek looked at her. "You weren't even there."

"Wasn't I?" she handed her phone to Emily. "I helped you find the guy that offered free one-day lessons. Did you really think I wasn't going to watch and take pictures of you getting thrown from the horse?"

"How many times did you get thrown?" JJ asked.

"At least five," Derek told her. "I was walking funny for a long time. That time I told you I pulled a muscle at the gym."

"That explains so much,"

"So he would have karate on Mondays, guitar and therapy on Tuesdays, and horseback riding on Wednesdays," Derek looked at his mom. "Are you ok with taking him to his lessons when me and Pen have to work late?"

"As long as I get to watch," she smiled.

"I'll print out the forms later tonight," Derek smiled at Ryan.

"Fajitas are done," Dave announced and everyone went to help themselves.

"He seems a little happier," Penelope looked at Derek as Dave helped Ryan set up his fajitas.

"Hopefully, that will continue." He told her. "We should do something with him tomorrow. Something with just the three of us."

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure. Has he told you of any place he wants to go see?"

"Why don't we take him to the National Air And Space Museum?" she looked at him. "There's lots for him to do. He'll have a blast."

"It's a plan," he smiled at her as Ryan came back to them.

"I want to sit here," he told them.

"Climb on up," Derek took his plate and set it on the counter as he climbed back up on the stool.

* * *

The next day, the new family set out early for their day. Derek parked at the metro station and they took the train to the museum. When they all walked inside, Ryan's eyes got huge as he tried to look at everything all at once. Derek went to pay for their tickets as Penelope smiled at his awestruck face.

"Ever been in a place this big before?" she asked him.

"Never," Ryan responded as Derek came back to them.

"So where should we start?" he asked them.

"The aviation exhibit," Ryan was reading through the informational pamphlet. "It says that Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis is on display."

"Lead the way,"

"They have flight simulators too," Ryan read off as they found the hangar where the aviation section was located.

Derek and Penelope smiled as they watched Ryan jump from one display to another as he read all about what he was looking at.

"Can we go on the space simulator?" Ryan asked. "It's a simulation of a real space flight. Please?"

"Sounds like fun," Derek smiled at him as they got in line for Derek to pay for it.

"After we get done, we should get some lunch." Penelope told them.

"I didn't realize it was that time already," Derek looked at his watch.

"After we eat lunch, can we go to the planetarium?" Ryan asked.

"Absolutely,"

"And then the observation tower?"

"Whatever you want," Penelope smiled at him. "But we need to stop at the gift shop before we leave. They do those souvenir photos here."

"Can I get a model rocket?" Ryan asked.

"Sure," Derek smiled at him as they got into the simulator.

After they got off the simulator they all walked to the ground floor where the cafeteria was. Penelope and Ryan went to grab a table while Derek went to get their food. He brought it all back to them and they started eating.

"Is your food ok?" Derek saw Ryan eating his cheeseburger very slowly.

"Yeah," he said softly.

"All right, what's up?" Derek put his own burger down as Penelope stopped eating as well. "Do you have anything that you want to talk about?"

"It's just…."

"What?"

"I like it here,"

"Ok, I'm glad."

"I like living here. I have friends, I like hanging out with them and Uncle Hotch and Jack and-"

"They all like hanging out with you too," Penelope told him.

"I don't want to leave,"

"Who says that you're leaving?"

"The Cohen's-"

"Whoa," Derek stopped him. "What did Gloria say?"

"That the chances of the Cohen's getting custody were very slim."

"So?"

"The Atwood's have bad luck," Ryan mumbled. "That's what Trey always told me."

"First of all you are not only an Atwood anymore, you are also a Morgan." Derek told him. "Second of all, when did Trey tell you that?"

"After we moved out of Fresno after Frank got arrested,"

"You make your own luck good or bad," Derek told him. "Frank decided to make bad luck for himself when he did what he did to get himself arrested. As did Dawn and Trey."

"But you made good luck for yourself when you decided to sneak into the luggage compartment of that bus," Penelope added. "You knew you wanted something else than what was given to you."

"I just didn't like Newport," Ryan mumbled.

"Did you tell that to Gloria?" Derek asked and Ryan nodded. "Then she will tell the judge that. But she assured us that the judge will most likely decide to have you stay with us."

"But what if-"

"Let's put this out of your mind," Penelope told him. "Let's focus on all the good things happening this week."

"What do you mean?"

"You have Grandparents Day, which Nana Fran promised you that she was going to, and she never breaks her promises ever."

"And you have your new lessons that I'm signing you up for." Derek added. "And your guitar lesson, which you always enjoy."

"And you'll be spending time with Jack and Henry, as well as with Malachi and Keaton. You always have fun whenever you hang out with any of them."

"I guess," Ryan shrugged.

"Now let's finish lunch and see what else we can find in this place," Derek told him and he nodded as they all finished their lunch.

* * *

Several hours later, they were all back home. They had some pizza delivered and Ryan and Derek sat at the table as they put together the model rocket that Derek had picked up in the museum gift shop. Penelope worked around them as she put some of her things away.

"Is there any place that is off-limits?" Penelope asked as she brought up another box from the basement. "An area that you don't want messed with?"

"Set your things up wherever you want," Derek looked up at her. "What's ours is yours, Baby Girl."

"I think it's about time for me to stop for today anyway,"

"Why?"

"Have you noticed the time?"

"Whoa," Derek glanced at the clock. "You need to start getting ready for bed kid."

"But we're not done yet," Ryan told him.

"We'll work on it some more tomorrow night,"

"Promise?"

"Well I do go back to work tomorrow," Derek told him as they started to clean up their work area. "So we may get a case. If we do, we'll work on it as soon as we're done all right?"

"Ok,"

"Now run up and take a shower," Derek told him. "And brush your teeth too."

Ryan slowly went up the stairs as Derek continued to clean up with a little help from Penelope. A few minutes later they could hear the shower turn on.

"He will pass right out tonight," Penelope told him. "He did a lot of running around today."

"So you think he had fun today?" Derek looked at her as he started going through Ryan's back pack.

"Absolutely," she assured him. "And you need to stop worrying so much."

"What do you mean?"

"You are worse than Ryan," she told him. "Stop worrying about your court case. It will all work out how it's supposed to."

"Everything happens for a reason right?" he smirked at her.

"You got that right," she smiled at him. "Gloria said there's nothing to worry about, so we won't worry about anything. Just put it out of your head."

Derek nodded as he finished cleaning up and made sure that he had everything ready for his first day back at work the next day. He really loved Penelope's optimism, but sometimes he needed more to let him know that everything would work out.

I guess they would find out once and for all at the court date next week.

* * *

 _ **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. I will be working on Abduction and will hopefully get the next chapter out to you guys soon. PLZ R&R!_


	34. Chapter 34: Grandparents Day Surprises

**EXCUSE ME BUT WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!**

 _Anyone just get done watching tonight's episode too?_

 ** _AN:_** _Here's another chapter for you guys. I'm still working on Abduction but this chapter came out a lot faster than I thought it would. Anyway, PLZ R &R!_

 _ **Disclaimer:** See first chapter. _

* * *

**Chapter 34: Grandparents Day Surprises**

Ryan was the first one to wake up one morning. As soon as he heard Derek's alarm going off and the footsteps coming down the hall towards his room, he bolted up in bed.

"Someone's excited for today," Penelope smiled at him from the doorway as she slowly opened his door.

"She's still coming right?" Ryan scrambled off his bed. "She didn't call and cancel or anything did she?"

"Nana Fran would not miss this day for anything in the world, even if she was sick."

"She's not is she?"

"As far as I know, she is one hundred percent healthy."

"Where's dad?"

"He probably fell back asleep. He's still getting used to being back at work after having so much time off."

"Can I jump on him?"

"Maybe if he's still not awake in a little while,"

"I heard that," they heard a tired voice mumble and spotted Derek walking towards them as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "I do need some coffee though."

"You get dressed," Penelope told Ryan. "We'll be waiting downstairs."

Almost an hour later, Ryan was running around the house with Clooney as he played fetch with him. The three of them had already had breakfast, Derek had brewed a second pot of coffee and he and Penelope were pouring themselves another serving of the concoction in their travel cups. They all stopped what they were doing as the doorbell rang.

"You're here!" Ryan ran to Fran as Derek opened the door for her.

"I told you I would come," Fran smiled at him.

"Where's Nono?"

"He had to stop into work for a little bit," she explained as Ryan's face fell. "But he swears that he will not be late meetings us there."

"Bookbag," Penelope handed it to Ryan. "Did you charge your Netbook?"

"Yep," he nodded. "Did you-"

"Everything is in there," Penelope smiled at him. "You guys have fun today."

"I definitely will," Fran smiled as they all walked out of the house and Ryan climbed into the back of Fran's car.

"I expect to see lots of pictures!" Derek called as he and Penelope climbed into his car and both cars pulled out of the driveway.

A little while later, Derek and Penelope stepped off the elevator and headed towards the BAU. Derek held the door open for Penelope as he saw Dave and Hotch descending the stairs leading up to Hotch's office.

"If you don't leave right now, you run the risk of disappointing a certain little boy," Penelope looked at Dave. "And if you do that, I will have no choice but to hurt you; in the real world as well as in cyber space."

"I'm going," Dave held his hands up in surrender. "I wouldn't dream of disappointing that kid."

"Have fun," Derek told him. "I already told Ma that she had to take lots of pictures."

"As will I," Dave walked out the doors and headed towards the elevator as Penelope headed towards her office and Derek went to his desk.

"You look like death warmed over," Emily commented.

"Why thank you Prentiss, charming as usual." Derek took a gulp of coffee. "Ryan wouldn't go to sleep last night because he was too excited about today, which means we couldn't sleep."

"Is that the only reason?" Reid asked from the desk next to Derek's. "Or are you worried about Friday?"

"Maybe a little," Derek sighed. "Gloria said not to worry, and Penelope told me to stop thinking about it, but-"

"Everything will be fine," JJ came up to them as she heard the end of their conversation. "And you will have all of us there for support."

"I'm not sure if you'll all be allowed in the courtroom, but thanks." Derek smiled at them as he turned to the growing pile of files on his desk. "I still have a lot of work to catch up on."

"Good luck," Emily told him as she went to get more coffee.

* * *

Dave rushed into Ryan's school and went to check in at the office like Derek and Penelope told him. The secretary told him where Ryan and Fran would be and he took off down the hall looking for the language arts classroom. He silently opened the door and saw groups set up all around the room with the students and their grandparents.

"Hello," an older lady-presumably the teacher-approached him. "I'm Mrs. Oberman. Who are you looking for?"

"Ryan Atwood," he shook her hand. "I'm David Rossi, sorry I'm late."

"Don't worry about it," she waved it off. "Ryan has been talking about you coming since we informed the students of this day."

"Well me and my wife have been just as excited."

"So basically what will happen today is that you will accompany Ryan to each of his classes. In each class, there will be activities for you to do together and all the projects you get to take home with you."

"Sounds good,"

"Ryan is with your wife over in the far corner," Mrs. Oberman pointed and Dave spotted them with their heads bent over a small table as they worked.

"Sorry I'm late," Dave joined them as he tried to sit normally in the child-sized chair. "The meeting with Hotch went longer than I thought it would."

"It's ok, we just got started." Fran smiled at him as he saw the collection of construction paper, scissors, glue, colored pencils, and crayons.

"So what are we doing?"

"We are making a Generations Scrapbook," Fran told him. "We all have to fill out a favorite things sheet, and Ryan gets to interview us."

"Sounds fun," Dave said. "So where do we start?"

"Ryan is decorating the cover right now," Fran said.

"You can do the first page," Ryan handed over the right sheet. "You need to glue a current picture of each of us in the right spot."

"Where-"

"I have all the pictures we need," Ryan took a folder out of his bag and handed a ziploc bag to Fran. "Mom got me all the pictures I needed."

"All the pictures?" Dave opened the bag and pulled out the photos. "How in the world did you get our baby pictures?"

"Do you not know who his mother is?" Fran looked at him as she started cutting the pictures down to size so they would fit on the page.

"Of course," Dave nodded.

"I'm surprised she was able to find my baby picture," Ryan mumbled. "I didn't even think that I had any."

"Penelope can track down anything if she sets her mind to it,"

"Get to work," Ryan told Dave as Fran chuckled.

"Yes sir," Dave saluted him as they all continued to work on the scrapbook.

* * *

When lunchtime rolled around, Derek was exhausted from all the paperwork he was trying to catch up on. He slowly trudged back into the government building after picking up some lunch for him and Penelope at the nearby deli. He walked into Penelope's lair and smiled when he saw her fingers flying across one of her keyboards as she finished a search for another team.

"Lunch break!" he announced and she turned to smile at him.

"What'd you bring me?"

"Look and see," he pulled a chair over beside her and sat down.

"You do love me," she smiled as she pulled out her sandwich.

"Don't you ever doubt it," he placed another bag on the desk. "That is our dessert."

"Which is?"

"Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting," he smiled as her eyes lit up.

"If nothing else, I will keep you around for how much you spoil me."

"You wouldn't keep me around for my body?"

"Maybe," she smiled as they started on their lunch. "How do you think Fran and Dave are faring with Ryan?"

"I'm sure they're all having a great time," Derek assured her as both their phones went off from incoming messages.

"Please not a case,"

"Not a case," Derek shook his head. "Just a text from Dave. He sent a picture of them eating lunch together."

"Oh," Penelope found her phone and opened the text. "Aww, that smile of his. He's so happy."

Derek smiled as he continued to stare at the group picture of his mom, Dave and Ryan as they sat at a table in the school cafeteria eating lunch together. Dave and Fran were holding the placemats that Ryan had clearly made for them all by himself.

"He will be talking everyone's ears off about this once they all get here this afternoon," Derek said as he gathered all their trash.

"Good," she smiled as her phone started to ring. "Seriously? It's my lunch break."

"If it was about a case, JJ or Hotch would come in here personally."

"It's a California number," she looked at him.

"One of your brothers?"

"Yeah, they're probably calling from their work." She clicked it on. "Hello?"

"Penelope?" a soft voice answered on the other end.

"Oh my god." She gasped. "Is this who I think it is?"

"It's me, Squirt."

"M-Mitchell?" she looked at Derek and his whole demeaner hardened.

* * *

Ryan climbed into the back of Dave's car with all the things that they had made that day. Since they had arrived in separate cars that morning, Dave was following Fran back to their place so she could drop off her car. Then the three of them would go to the BAU together so that Ryan could tell Derek and Penelope all about their day.

"Well I had fun today kiddo," Dave glanced back at Ryan as Fran climbed into the car and they started off again.

"So did I," Fran smiled at him.

"Really? You're not just saying that?"

"We really enjoyed ourselves," Dave assured him. "All your teachers were nice and they said that you're doing very well in all of your classes."

"And you liked all the things we made?"

"Absolutely," Fran smiled. "I will treasure them forever."

Dave pulled into the parking garage at headquarters and they all climbed out of the car and stepped into the elevator. Once the security guard waved them through, they all made their way to the BAU. Fran noticed the somber atmosphere as most of the team-Hotch included-sat around the desks in the bullpen. The only one missing was Penelope.

"Dad!" Ryan ran to him and Derek smiled as he accepted the hug from him.

"Hey kid," Derek sat him on his desk in front of him. "Did you have fun today?"

"Yep," Ryan nodded. "We made some things today."

"Well I definitely want to see them,"

"Let's go get mom first," Ryan hopped off the desk.

"Wait, you can't." Derek stopped him. "Not yet anyway."

"Why not?"

"What's going on?" Dave looked at all of them. "Is Penelope all right?"

"She will be," Derek sighed. "After we got your text this afternoon, Penelope received a phone call. It was a California number so she answered it thinking it was one of her brothers."

"Was it?" Fran asked.

"It was," Derek nodded. "But it was Mitchell."

"What?" Dave's whole demeaner changed, as did Ryan's.

"It's not what you think," Derek stopped them from marching into Penelope's office and hanging the phone up for her at the very least.

"What's not what we think?"

"The reason why Mitchell didn't show up to the reunion lunch with you guys was because he was going through basic training."

"What?"

"In Fort Detrick," Hotch stated. "Apparently, he asked to do it there because he knew that his sister was here."

"He knew where she was this whole time?" Fran asked.

"Not the whole time. He tracked down her location just six months ago."

"Isn't basic training for people who want to be in the army?" Ryan spoke up.

"Yes," Derek looked at him. "He signed up for the Navy Seals. And he's already enlisted. He ships out at the beginning of the year."

"Cool, he's going to do water rescues."

"Why don't we go get you a snack?" Emily stood up and grabbed her purse. "I have ten dollars worth of quarters waiting to be spent."

"It's ok, go ahead." Derek nodded at him. "If your mom finishes her call before you get back, I'll come find you."

"We'll come with you," Reid stood up as did JJ and the group walked out through the glass doors.

"What didn't you want to say in front of Ryan?" Dave asked.

"Mitchell's had a hard life; it started pretty much before Penelope and her mom joined the family. He took on all the family responsibilities for himself." Derek told them. "Then when Pen's mom and his dad got married, everything seemed to pile up on top of him. He started drinking when he started high school then he moved onto other heavy substances."

"He says he doesn't remember much of his years after he graduated high school. He barely remembers college, he vaguely remembers meeting and then marrying his wife and the birth of their kids." Hotch told them. "His wife knew about his problems, but she thought she could change him. She'd finally had enough. She threw him out of their house over a year ago and refused to take him back unless he got his act together."

"And did he?" Fran asked.

"It took a life-threatening wake up call," Derek told them. "He got into a really bad car accident and went through court-ordered rehab. He slowly got better and decided to change everything about his life. He signed up for the seals because he wanted to help people, but he's still trying to make ammends. He's already talked to his brothers; he saved Penelope for last because he knew how difficult it would be for them both."

"Morgan," Hotch nodded his head in the direction of the stairs and he looked up and spotted Penelope slowly coming out of her office.

Derek lept up from his desk and sprinted towards the stairs leading up to her office. He caught her just as she was starting to walk down to get him.

"So?" he asked her.

"Come on," she led him back into her office and they sat down on the small couch.

"So what happened?" he asked her.

"I think-I believe he was being genuine."

"What'd you talk about?"

"Everything," she sighed and he pulled her closer to him. "He kept apologizing."

"For what?"

"Everything," she lay her head on his shoulder and he tightened his hold on her.

"What's everything?"

"When our parents met, I was kind of spoiled." She mumbled. "I still had the casts on my legs and the bruises hadn't gone away completely, so I was put in this protective bubble by all of them. I think Mitchell got a little jealous. And he was really close with his mom. When we moved in with them after the wedding, I think he saw it as a betrayal if he got close to my mom."

"So what, he was jealous of them all protecting you?"

"You don't know what it was like," Penelope sighed. "If I did anything where there was any chance of me getting hurt, they immediately came to my rescue. I had to go through years of intense physical therapy after the casts came off. I had to re-learn how to walk and run. I was a total outcast; except with all of them. I couldn't do any kind of physical school activity because of what happened. That's why I spent all my time in front of a computer screen."

"I do get it," Derek started to run his hand up and down her back. "What's this have to do with Mitchell?"

"He was always the first one to come running to my rescue-at first. Once he entered high school, he took up with these kids and started getting into all kinds of trouble. I mean, the local cops were always at the house-dropping him off after one of his latest stunts. They were practically part of the family since they were at the house almost as much as we were."

"Hey I get going down the wrong path," Derek assured her. "I did the same thing after my dad died. But I eventually got back on track again."

"Because you had someone on your side-someone willing to bet their life on you. None of us had that. The neighborhood where we lived-no one wanted anything to do with us-we were the town outcasts. Because there was no one willing to step up for us, it took Mitchell a little longer to clean up his act."

"Ok, I get it." Derek sighed. "I just want to protect you. Make sure that he's being upfront with you."

"Well I spent the last hour and a half conferencing with Tim, Michael and Joe."

"And what's their take on their older brother?"

"They all say that it's legit. Tim called Olivia, Mitchell's wife. She confirmed everything. She told him that he saved me to talk to last because he's felt guilty for so long because of how he treated me."

"After the funeral?"

"And the rest of my high school years," she sighed.

"So you want to meet up with him then?" he glanced down at her.

"His wife and kids are flying into town this weekend," she told him. "I said I'd discuss this with you and get back to him."

"Did you tell him about what's going on Friday?"

"No," she shook her head. "I didn't want to worry him so soon. I'll try to tell him when we meet up."

"I will be going with you," he stated firmly.

"I know," she smiled at him. "As will Ryan. I have my own superhero squad."

"That's right,"

"I don't want to interrupt," Fran walked into the room after knocking briefly.

"It's fine," Penelope smiled at her. "We're done talking anyway. How'd it go today at the school?"

"Excellent," she smiled at them. "Dave and I had so much fun going to his classes with him and doing all those projects and crafts with him."

"What kind of projects did you do?" Derek asked.

"First I think you need to see all this," Fran handed them several colored folders. "I received those in each of his classes. All his teachers said that they'll be emailing you about it later today."

"What the…."

"What is it?" Penelope took a folder.

"Ryan's accomplishments that he didn't want us to know about," Derek skimmed through his language arts folder. "These papers are very well-written."

"Those are just the writing prompts that's posted on the website everyday," Fran told them. "Most of the students do them for fun, but they do receive extra credit for them."

"Ryan has done them everyday since he started school," Derek read through them.

"This is his Art folder," Penelope handed over the charcoal sketches.

"There's a parent letter with that one," Fran told them.

"There's an Art Competition that's held at the end of every school year," Penelope looked at Derek. "They want Ryan to think about entering."

"Well this one says that Ryan won his class spelling bee last week," Derek handed over the letter. "They're having one for his grade next week. If he wins that, he'll go on to the school spelling bee."

"Why wouldn't he tell us all this?" Fran took the letter about the spelling bee.

"Because he doesn't like being in the spotlight," Derek looked at his mom.

"He likes to stay in the shadows," Penelope added as the three of them continued to look through all the folders.

A little while later, the three of them walked out of Penelope's office and down to the bullpen where everyone else was still waiting for them. Ryan and Reid were talking non-stop about something as Ryan was eating out of a bag of chips.

"Hey kiddo," Penelope smiled at him.

"Mom," Ryan went to her. "What happened with your other brother?"

"I think everything will work out," she smiled at everyone. "I will tell you all about it later, but right now I want to hear about your day."

"Look at what we made," Ryan pulled out all the projects. "But I gave them to Nana and Nono to keep though."

"That is absolutely fine," Derek picked him up. "When we get home, we need to talk about some things that you kept from us."

"What do you mean?" Ryan looked at them. "I don't think I did anything bad."

"Nothing bad," Derek assured him. "But Nana Fran just showed us some things that a few of your teachers gave her. So what's this about an art competition and a spelling bee?"

"Oh," Ryan whispered. "Are you going to make me do them?"

"We would never force you to do anything,"

"We just want you to really think about it ok?" Penelope looked at him and he nodded.

Everyone joined in as Ryan showed off the scrapbook that he and Fran and Dave had made and the placemats that Ryan had made prior to that day.

* * *

 _ **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. Will be trying to work on Abduction the rest of this week. PLZ R&R!_

 ****SPOILERS****

 _I know that pretty much everyone hates Savannah with Derek and wants something bad to happen to her, but for them to shoot her? I don't care how much she's hated, to shoot a pregnant woman is cruel. What are everyone's thoughts on this?_


	35. Chapter 35: Parenting Woes

**SO WHAT DID EVERYONE THINK OF TONIGHT'S EPISODE?**

 _ **AN:** Here's another chapter for you guys. I hope you like it. PLZ R &R!_

 _ **Disclaimer:** See first chapter._

* * *

 **Chapter 35: Parenting Woes**

Derek turned over in bed and glanced at the clock on his nightstand. He sighed when he realized that he still had several hours yet before he needed to get up. He felt movement beside him and saw Penelope turn over and look at him.

"What's the matter?" she asked sleepily.

"I'm not sure," he sighed. "I keep thinking about today-"

"Everything will be fine," she assured him.

"I know-" he started then sat upright in bed. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" she looked at him.

"I could've sworn I heard-" he was cut off when he heard a scratching at the door.

Penelope sat up as Derek climbed out of bed and went to open the door. They both watched as Clooney walked into them and started whining. Ever since Ryan's first overnight with Derek, Clooney always slept with Ryan the whole night through in his bedroom whenever he was there.

"What's the matter boy?" Derek glanced back at Penelope. "I think I'm going to check on Ryan."

"Right behind you," Penelope pulled on her bathrobe before following him out.

Derek slowly opened Ryan's door and spotted the bed empty. An intense odor hit him as he heard a noise in the bathroom. He flipped on the light as he walked in and spotted Ryan sprawled in front of the toilet.

"Hey buddy," Derek went to him as the odor hit him again. "Are you ok?"

"I got sick," he mumbled sleepily. "I was coming to get you."

"It's ok," Derek assured him. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"I ruined the bed,"

"You didn't ruin it," Derek stripped him out of his pajamas and turned on the shower before standing him in it. "Everything is washable."

Penelope came in with another pair of pajamas for Ryan and took the soiled pair from him.

"I'll get this and all the bedding into the washing machine," she told him and he nodded as he started to lightly spray off Ryan with the shower head.

A half hour later, Derek carried Ryan downstairs as he had his head laying on his shoulder and his arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Penelope had pulled the sofa bed out and had set up some pillows and blankets.

"Here we go," Derek lay Ryan down on the bed and got situated beside him.

"Sorry," Ryan mumbled as he clung to Derek.

"For what?" Derek looked down at him.

"For waking you up,"

"Don't worry about it," he smiled at him. "I like taking care of you. Even very early in the morning."

"The laundry is going," Penelope came out to them. "How is he?"

"He threw up a couple more times," he told her. "It's probably the flu. The school sent out an email a couple days ago saying that a lot of the kids were coming down with it."

"He'll be better in a few days," she sat down on the other side of Ryan. "We need to get some sleep."

"Yeah," Derek turned out the light and they all got settled.

A few hours later, Derek had finished getting ready for his court date as he picked up the phone to make a couple calls. He called Ryan's school to let them know that he wouldn't be there that day, then he called JJ, the only one on the team that he knew would be able to help him out today.

"Hello?" a tired voice came over the phone.

"JJ, it's Derek." He greeted tiredly. "Are you ok?"

"I was getting ready to call you. I don't think I'll be able to make it today. Henry woke up around two. We've been up all night."

"Is he sick too?"

"Yeah," she sighed deeply. "What do you mean too? Is Ryan sick?"

"He woke us up last night too," Derek sighed. "I was hoping, if it wasn't too much trouble-if I could-"

"Bring him over," she interrupted him. "Hotch is already on his way with Jack."

"They're all sick?"

"They probably got each other sick," JJ told him. "Emily will be staying behind to help us."

"Thank you so much JJ,"

"No problem," Derek hung up his phone as he saw Penelope coming down the stairs, all ready for court.

"So?" she asked him.

"JJ, Will and Emily will be watching all three sick boys." He told her.

"Jack and Henry are sick too?"

"Yep," he nodded as he glanced at Ryan still sound asleep on the sofa bed.

"They must've gotten each other sick,"

"That's the conclusion that JJ came to as well," he sighed.

"I have everything that you need for court," Penelope set the stack of items down on the counter. "Go get some things to take to JJ's for Ryan."

"Right," Derek went back upstairs again.

A little while later, Derek pulled into JJ's driveway and got Ryan out of the back and carried him to the front door. Emily opened the door and he walked in with Penelope behind him.

"Welcome to the infirmary," Will drawled in his southern accent. "I guess this is what will happen now. One of them gets sick, they'll all get sick."

"Thank you so much for doing this," Derek lay Ryan down on the loveseat and covered him with his blanket. "There's no way that I can reschedule-"

"Hey, you can't miss this court date," JJ came in with ginger ale for all the boys. "It will all be fine here."

"We brought some things for him," Penelope handed them to Emily.

"An inhaler?"

"He had asthma when he was younger," Derek told them. "It went away, but sometimes it comes back when he's sick."

"Got it,"

"And I also brought an extra pair of pajamas, just in case, and there's a fever reducer-"

"We got it covered," JJ told him. "He'll be fine here. We'll call you when he wakes up so he can talk to you."

"Thank you," Derek placed Ryan's bear under his arm as he continued to sleep and Penelope started to pull him away.

"We can't be late," she told him.

"All right," they both finally walked out of the house and got back into the car.

A little while later, they walked into the courthouse and found Hotch, Reid, Rossi and Fran waiting for them with Gloria.

"Sorry we're late," Derek looked at Gloria. "Ryan-"

"Agent Hotchner already explained," she smiled at him. "How is he?"

"I think it's the flu,"

"He's in good hands," Fran assured him. "Just get him something on your way home."

"I had already planned to," he smiled as he saw a guy in a suit coming down the hall. "Uh, Baby Girl?"

She looked down the hall where he was pointing and saw a familiar face coming towards them.

"Tim?" she looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprise," he smiled at them. "I'm your legal counsel."

"What?"

"But don't you have to have a license to practice here?" Derek asked him.

"I took the Bar exam to practice in the DC area," he informed them.

"I thought you only practiced criminal law," Derek said.

"I dabble in family law, if it's worth it." He told them. "And this case is definitely worth it if I can keep Caleb Nichol's daughter from getting Ryan."

"You've had run-ins with the Nichol's back in California?"

"As soon as I heard the last name, I knew. So if I can help you out, I will." Tim stated. "I've been in contact with both Agent Hotchner and Gloria the past several weeks. They sent me all the files and I think this will be over rather quickly."

"This is only the preliminary," Derek reminded him. "We won't be able to get a final decision until after the holidays."

"That's just a technicality," Tim told them. "Whatever decision the judge makes today, is usually the decision in the final hearing."

"Let's head in," Gloria told them and the group started to file in.

Penelope squeezed Derek's hand tightly as they followed Tim and Gloria to one of the small tables. The team filled the seats behind them as they all glanced over to the other side of the room. A stern-looking Mrs. Cohen sat with her lawyer and who they assumed was Ryan's old social worker. They spotted Sandy Cohen sitting behind them looking none too pleased to be there.

Tim and Gloria went through everything that Derek and Penelope had brought along and had a whispered conversation before the door to the back chambers opened and the judge came out and sat before them.

"I am Judge Routh, let's get this started." He looked at the crowd of people.

"Your Honor, before we begin," Tim stood up. "Mr. Morgan would like to make an appeal to Mrs. Cohen."

"Go ahead,"

"Mrs. Cohen's father, Caleb Nichol, is still in the custody of the Quantico police department after his little visit to the Morgan residence where he proceeded to frighten young Ryan."

"I've been briefed of the situation," Judge Routh looked at Mrs. Cohen. "And I am still less than thrilled about it."

"Mr. Morgan will agree to drop the charges that he filed against Mr. Nichol, on the guideline that he never sets foot in the DC area again, if Mrs. Cohen will agree to drop all this and let Ryan stay in his current place of residence where he belongs."

"That seems very reasonable," Judge Routh glanced at Mrs. Cohen's lawyer, who had a whispered conversation with his client.

"My client will not agree to that,"

"Let's proceed then," the judge stated.

"My clients were asked to bring anything that they thought would show how Ryan is adjusting to his life here in Quantico," Tim approached the judge's bench. "I have here pictures-"

"Mr. Atwood has been in their care for a lot longer than he was with the Cohen's-"

"You're right," Tim separated everything into two piles. "One is two months from the moment that Mr. Morgan met Ryan, and one is two months from the moment Ryan moved in with Mr. Morgan."

"Is this going good or bad?" Fran whispered to Dave.

"I'm not sure yet." He whispered back.

"There are also written statements from Ryan's school principal, all of his teachers, his therapist, and several others stating how he has been these last couple of months…." Tim placed a couple folders down. "Along with Ryan's weekly schedule, pictures of Ryan with his best friends, and here's a series of questions about Ryan that Mr. Morgan knew the answers to within the first few weeks that he knew him. I'll bet Mrs. Cohen doesn't know the answer to any of them."

"I think it's going well," Reid looked at Dave.

"It's going really well," Hotch told them. "Mrs. Cohen looks flustered."

"Ryan didn't even have his own room when he was with the Cohen's," Tim argued. "He slept on the couch in their den or on the floor of their son's room."

"They were in the process-"

"For two months? They were in the process for two months?"

"Enough!" Judge Routh pounded his gavel. "I would like to hear from Ryan's social worker. Gloria, the floor is yours."

"It's fine," Tim assured Derek and his sister.

"I first came into contact with Ryan when he showed up at the orphanage here in DC," Gloria started explaining. "Back then, he was very guarded. He barely spoke, hardly ate anything, just kept to himself; until he met Agent Morgan, that is. After their first meeting, he slowly opened up and started talking more. Most of what he said was asking when he could spend more time with Agent Morgan, but the important thing in my eyes was that he was talking more."

"And how is he adjusting living with him full-time?" Judge Routh questioned.

"He is a very happy child. He loves his school, he spends time with Agent Morgan's colleagues, he loves the lessons he goes to…."

"What kind of lessons does he take?"

"He takes guitar lessons every Tuesday after school followed by his therapy session. He will also be taking karate and horseback riding starting next week. They were both his idea."

"And how is his therapy going?"

"He fights it as you can imagine," Gloria told him. "But Dr. Yance has assured us that Ryan is doing well. He's been slowly opening up to her."

"And how is school going for him?"

"He was enrolled in the advanced learning program a few weeks ago," Gloria handed over another folder. "His favorite subjects are Art and Language Arts. In fact, they want Ryan to enter their art competition. And they want him to do a spelling bee that the school is sponsoring. Ryan is not sure if he wants to yet."

"Mrs. Cohen's main claim is that Mr. Morgan has a high-profile job that takes him out of town for quite a bit of time," Judge Routh stated. "Do you care to comment, Mr. Morgan?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Derek stood up. "It's true that I have a job that takes me away from my home quite a bit, but I have a wonderfully dedicated support system. My mom doesn't live that far from me and is more than willing to take care of him in those instances. They absolutely adore each other and love spending time together. Or my girlfriend just moved in with us-"

"I see that." Judge Routh glanced at her. "You also work with the FBI, Ms. Garcia?"

"Yes, Your Honor." She stood beside Derek.

"She's our Technical Analyst," Derek said. "Which means that she hardly ever travels with us. So she would be home to take care of him in my absence."

"And they get along with each other?" Judge Routh looked at Derek.

"Most definitely," Derek agreed. "Before he moved in, he always wanted to hang out with just the three of us. He wanted her to help him make his Halloween costume and he was very excited when she announced that she would be moving in with us. They love to do arts and crafts and other projects together."

"Miss Sloane?" Judge Routh turned to Ryan's social worker from Newport. "What is your assessment of Mrs. Cohen's reasoning for trying to take custody of Ryan?"

"I advised her against filing an appeal," Rachel stated. "Ryan had already been a ward of the state of Virginia for several months before they located him. He was already settled in with Mr. Morgan and starting his new school at that point. And Mr. Cohen wanted no part of taking Ryan from his home."

"Mr. Cohen, care to explain?"

"When the private investigator we hired to locate Ryan finally tracked down his whereabouts," Sandy stood up as he started to explain. "He informed us of a website that Mr. Morgan's mother started. It was a family website and it had pictures of Ryan since he showed up in Virginia. He was happy in every single picture that was posted; something that I never saw when he was living with us. I knew that he wasn't ours anymore. That's why I didn't want to co-file the appeal."

"So what is your recommendation at this point?" the judge turned back to Gloria.

"I believe that it would be beneficial to the well-being of Mr. Atwood if he would remain in the care of Mr. Morgan."

"I agree," Judge Routh looked at Derek and Penelope. "I will be making my final decision at the first of the year, but for right now Ryan will stay where he is."

"Thank god," Fran sighed, not realizing that she had been holding her husband's hand tightly, digging her fingernails into his skin in the process.

"I would like to speak to Ryan in person at the next hearing though." Judge Routh looked at Derek and Penelope.

"Not a problem," Derek smiled. "Given what he's already been through in his life so far, we didn't want to put him through all this if we didn't have to."

"Understandable," Judge Routh nodded.

"Plus he did wake up with the flu last night, so he wouldn't have been in any state to be able to come here today anyway."

"I do hope he feels better soon,"

"Thank you, Your Honor."

"At the next hearing, he will talk to me in my chambers. Gloria will be present, but she won't be able to intervene."

"Understood," Derek nodded.

"Everyone enjoy your holidays and I will see you all back here next year." Judge Routh pounded his gavel and stepped down from the bench as Derek breathed a sigh of relief.

"I told you everything would be fine," Penelope hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Baby Girl." He whispered.

"For what?" she looked at him.

"For staying so positive," he told her. "And making me stay positive."

"Anytime, Handsome." She smiled at him.

"Thank goodness," Fran rushed to her son.

"I knew it would all work out," Dave smiled at his step-son.

They all watched as Mrs. Cohen stormed out of the courtroom and Mr. Cohen reluctantly followed behind his wife.

"Someone doesn't look happy," Hotch smiled as the group made their way out of the courtroom.

"I have a missed call from JJ," Derek took out his phone. "Ryan probably wanted to talk to me."

"Go ahead and call her back," Fran told him and he walked away from the group.

"Thank you, Bro." Penelope smiled at Tim.

"Hey I'm attached to the kid too," he smiled at her.

"So we were supposed to meet up with Mitchell tomorrow," Penelope told him as the rest of the group walked away to give them a moment.

"Yeah, I know." He looked at her.

"So does that mean that you're not the only one in town right now?" she asked.

"They may be waiting for my call so that I can tell them the outcome of the hearing," he smiled at her.

"And your wives and children?"

"They're all at the hotel," he smiled. "They're waiting on my call."

"I'll talk to Derek," she smiled at him. "See if he doesn't mind you all coming over. But Ryan is sick."

"I heard. So you woke up to him throwing up did you?"

"Clooney came to get us. Ryan was lying on the bathroom floor."

"That's nothing," Tim dismissed her story. "Wait until there's a trail of puke leading from his bedroom all the way down to your bedroom. Now that's a fun time."

Derek dialed JJ's number as he spotted Mr. and Mrs. Cohen starting to argue down the hall. He turned away as someone answered the phone on the other end.

"Derek?" JJ's voice came out. "How'd it go?"

"The final decision won't officially be made until next year," he told her. "But he's staying right where he is."

"Thank god,"

"So I saw you called. Did Ryan want to talk to me?"

"Yeah. He's fine, but he was missing you guys when he woke up. I think he just wanted his mom and dad."

"So how is he?"

"He threw up again, but he's fine. He's a little warm, but there's no fever."

"Is he awake?"

"Just a minute," Derek heard muffling.

"Dad?" a quiet voice greeted him.

"Hey buddy, how are you feeling?"

"My stomach feels funny," he mumbled.

"Aunt JJ said you threw up. Do you feel a little better after that?"

"Maybe,"

"Your mom and I just got done in court so we should be there to get you soon."

"Am I staying with you?"

"Yes you are," Derek smiled. "We'll talk more about it when we get there."

"Ok," Derek felt a hand on his shoulder and smiled as he saw that Penelope had joined him.

"We were going to stop at the store and get you some Gatorade and maybe another coloring book. How's that sound?"

"Sketchbook,"

"You want a sketchbook instead?"

"Yeah,"

"Ok, no problem. We'll see you soon. Love you buddy."

"Love you too," Derek hung up and smiled at Penelope.

"How is he?" she asked him.

"He threw up again,"

"We're in for a long weekend with him,"

"Oh yeah," he smiled at her.

"So…" she looked at him. "Tim is not the only brother of mine that's in town."

"That's right, we were supposed to meet Mitchell tomorrow."

"He's not the only one."

"They're all here?"

"Along with all their wives and kids."

"You're serious?"

"I told them they could come by the house, but…."

"As long as they're ok with a sick kid, then I have no problem with it."

"Thank you," she smiled at him.

"Anything for you, Baby Girl." He kissed her.

"Fine, you do that." They turned to look down the hall and saw Sandy and Kirsten Cohen still arguing. "If you want to see Seth, the child that's actually in your custody, let me know."

"Damn," Derek mumbled as Mr. Cohen stormed past them.

"Come on," Penelope led him away. "Let's not worry about them. Let's stop at the store really quick and go get our boy."

"Our boy," Derek smiled at her. "I like the sound of that."

"Well get used to it," she told him as they walked outside. "Because he will be our boy from now on."

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ _So what did you think? I hope you liked this. PLZ R &R!_

 _A couple reviewers have said that they wanted to see Ryan with just Derek and that it seemed like Penelope was always around them. The name of this story is Dreaming Of **HOME**. Home to me, means family. Derek wants Penelope to be a part of the family that he has with Ryan. The three of them are a family. Plus she's there whenever he needs help with Ryan and doesn't know how to handle a situation. And vice versa. So I'm sorry if you think that Penelope is around too much, but I write Morcia stories. Either you like it or you don't. Thank you._

 ** _**SPOILER**_**

 _So what did everyone think of tonight's episode? It was definitely action-packed and the ending did throw me for a loop, but honestly I kind of saw it coming. But unlike some other so-called fans, I will not stop watching the show. Yes, he was one of my favorite characters, but he wasn't the only one I liked. It will be interesting to see where the show goes, but I will not stop watching. And besides, Shemar Moore is destined to do great things far beyond just a TV show. Criminal Minds made him a truly great actor, and I know we can expect really great things from him in the near future._


	36. Chapter 36: Reunion

_**AN:** Here is the long-awaited update for all of you. Thank you for being so patient with me. I hope you like this. PLZ R &R!_

 _ **Disclaimer:** See first chapter._

* * *

 **Chapter 36: Reunion**

Derek pulled into JJ's driveway and he and Penelope climbed out of the car and started towards the door. Emily opened the door to let them in and they walked in to see Ryan fast asleep again.

"How is he?" Penelope asked as Derek knelt down before him.

"He fell asleep right after your phone call," JJ came into them. "Hotch just picked up Jack and Will took Henry upstairs."

"Maybe we shouldn't have that gathering," Penelope commented.

"What gathering?" Emily asked.

"All of my brothers are in town," she told them. "Along with their wives. We told them to meet us at the house, but…."

"I want to meet them," a soft voice mumbled.

"Are you sure?" Derek saw Ryan's eyes flutter open.

"I want to," he mumbled again.

"All right," Derek lifted him into his arms. "But they won't be staying long. Thanks again, JJ. I owe you."

"I was glad to do it," she told him as she patted Ryan's back as he rested his head on Derek's shoulder. "Feel better soon, buddy."

Penelope gathered Ryan's things and followed them out of the house. Derek got Ryan settled in the back seat before he climbed back into the car and they pulled away from JJ's house.

When they pulled up to their house, they saw the driveway packed with cars. Derek sighed as he glanced over at her and glanced at Ryan passed out in the back seat again.

"Hopefully he won't be overwhelmed,"

"Let's get him inside," she told him as they started to climb out of the car.

Everyone else climbed out of their cars and started towards them as Derek opened the back door.

"Don't crowd him too much," Derek called. "He's really not feeling well."

"If you give me your keys, I'll start to make up some warm broth for him," Tim's wife, Shelley, told him.

"Here you go," Derek handed her his keys. "Just watch out for the pooch that will greet you. He's harmless though."

Penelope opened the back door and started to gather all of Ryan's things. She saw his eyes starting to slowly open and smiled at him.

"Mom," he moaned.

"Derek, get him out!" Penelope called as she quickly unfastened his seatbelt.

"What-"

"Unless you want him to decorate your back seat, I would get him out right this second!"

Derek wasted no time reaching in and pulling Ryan from the car just moments before he started to empty his stomach again. Penelope rushed over as she heard Ryan gagging as Derek held him at the back of the car. They both tried to soothe him as he started crying.

"It's ok," Penelope rubbed his back. "You'll be fine."

"Don't crowd him," they heard Joe tell all the kids. "All of you head inside."

"S-Sorry," Ryan mumbled.

"Don't apologize for being sick," Derek told him. "Do you think you're done now?"

Ryan nodded as Derek lifted him up in his arms again. Penelope finished gathering his things from the back seat and they started inside.

"Do you have a hose?" Michael asked. "I can clean this up for you."

"Thanks," Derek looked at him. "It's on the side of the house."

"I've been on the receiving end of that before. At least he didn't get any on you this time."

"I'm going to take him to get cleaned up and change his pajamas again."

"We'll be fine down here," Penelope assured him as they headed upstairs.

"So it looks like you're pretty much moved in sis," Tim looked around. "What made you finally come to your senses?"

"All of your wives," she smiled at him. "And Emily and JJ, and of course Fran."

"We all love you," Michael came in after cleaning the driveway. "We can't help but try to make you see the right decision. Especially if it's been standing right in front of you for years."

"Yeah I get it," Penelope rolled her eyes. "So where's the missing Garcia's? Where's Mitchell and his family?"

"They're on their way," Joe told her. "For the record, I think he's being very genuine. He's fought his demons and he wants to make things right."

"I really want to believe it," Penelope sighed. "But I can't just forget everything-"

"Just get through this night," Tim told her.

"Someone is ready for the introductions," Derek came back downstairs with Ryan in his arms as he carried his blanket and his alligator from the zoo.

"He should be in bed so that he can rest," Penelope told him as he started to get Ryan settled in the living room.

"He refused when I tried to get him to sleep in his room," Derek told her. "I think he wants to protect his mom when her other brother shows up."

"If he's even coherent for that long,"

"The broth is almost done," Shelley told them as she brought in a plastic bowl that she had found in the kitchen. "Throw up bowl. Every parent needs one. Penelope told me that you hardly use it so it'll only come out when someone is sick."

"Thanks," Derek placed it on the floor below Ryan as he finished getting him settled on the couch. "So I know you all from the video chats we've had, but should we do the introductions?"

"Probably," Penelope nodded.

"Well this is my wife Shelley," Tim started. "And our daughters. Jazlynn is nine and Skylar is fifteen."

"I'm Sarah," she came forward. "I'm Michael's wife. And this is our ten-year-old daughter Hannah."

"I'm Allison, Joe's wife." Another woman came forward. "And this is thirteen-year-old Tanner."

"It's nice to meet you all," Derek smiled as the doorbell rang and he glanced at Penelope. "I'm thinking that's him, Baby Girl."

"Yeah," she said softly.

"I'll get it," Joe went to open the door and let in a group of four people. "We were just doing the introductions."

"Well I'm Mitchell," the newest member started as he turned to his family. "This is my wife Olivia and our kids. Elizabeth is twenty-one and Daniel is fourteen."

"Nice to meet you," Derek went to stand in front of Mitchell. "I'm supportive of this little meeting because it's important to your sister. But if this ends badly, you'll have me to answer to."

"And they both work for the FBI bro," Tim smirked. "They might just know how to get rid of a body without anyone knowing about it."

"Good to know," Mitchell told him. "I'm making a fresh start. So I'm here to make amends with all of you."

"Just be glad the kid is sick," "Michael pointed to the couch. "When we met him for the first time, he kept giving us the evil eye while we were trying to eat."

"That's his apprehensive look," Derek told them. "He's very cautious of new people. He was feeling you out. Seeing if he could trust you or not."

"Well hopefully he thinks he can now,"

"I have the broth ready," Shelley announced. "If Ryan is up for it."

"He hasn't had anything to eat since last night, so he should probably eat." Derek went to the couch as Shelley followed with the tray of soup and saltine crackers.

"Has he started calling you mom and dad yet?" Tim looked at Penelope.

"The night you guys left," she looked at him. "That was pretty sneaky telling him what you always told me."

"I had to get his attention," he shrugged. "So it's been going well for you then?"

"All uphill," she smiled. "I'll show you some pictures later."

"Pen," Derek called. "He's asking for you."

"Coming," she went to the couch as Derek joined everyone else in the kitchen.

"Don't take offense to it," Tim told him. "I think it's a universal sick kid thing. They always want their mom when they're sick. Dad just isn't good enough."

"I don't mind," Derek smiled. "They've always been close. From the day that they met each other for the first time."

Penelope went to the couch where Ryan was propped up against the back of the couch as he was covered with his blanket and grasping his alligator.

"Are you up for eating little one?" she sat beside him and he shrugged. "Well let's just try a little bit, ok?"

"Ok," he said softly as the tray was placed over his lap.

Ryan watched as two girls came in and sat on the love seat across from the couch. The younger one kept staring at them as the older one looked bored.

"Jazzy, stop staring." Skylar jabbed her younger sister. "He's sick."

"Who are they?" Ryan asked softly.

"These are Tim's girls," Penelope told him. "Jazlynn and Skylar. So they're your cousins."

"Hi," Jazlynn smiled at him.

"Hi," Ryan said softly.

"I'm Tanner," Joe's son came into them. "I play soccer too. I saw your team photo hanging up."

Derek watched as each of the kids went in to introduce themselves to Ryan. He was a little overwhelmed, clinging to Penelope for most of it, but after awhile he relaxed and started interacting with each of them.

"Derek, get the bag of things we got at the store." Penelope called and he grabbed it off the counter and took it to her.

Ryan was a lot more alert and listening as Skylar and Elizabeth kept telling them stories about the things they liked to do.

"We got you the sketchbook you asked for," Penelope pulled it out of the bag. "It's a spiral notebook one so the pages won't fall out unless you want to pull out a page to give it to someone."

"Thank you,"

"And sketching pencils," Penelope handed them to him. "And one more thing. You didn't ask for it, but I saw it and thought that you might like to try it."

"What is it?" he saw her take a box out.

"It's a kit. You can make keychain animals out of beads. There's patterns to make a frog, lizard, snake, puppy…."

"Cool," Ryan smiled at her.

"We'll attempt it when you're not feeling so sick, all right?" he nodded as all the adults joined them.

Ryan was able to keep the broth that Shelley made for him down. Everyone crowded around in the living room as Derek got out board games and turned on Netflix. After awhile, Derek realized that Penelope wasn't in the room and started to go look for her.

"She's with Mitchell out back," Tim stopped him. "He wanted to talk to her in private. He did the same thing with the rest of us."

"I'll give them fifteen minutes, then I'll go make sure that everything is ok." he told him as he turned back to Ryan who was struggling to stay awake so that he could keep talking to Tanner.

* * *

Penelope followed behind Mitchell as they walked out the back door and sat on the steps leading down into the yard. She had made sure to make her departure from the group while Derek was distracted by the rest of the group. She knew that if he saw her leave the room with Mitchell that he would've followed them and hovered by the door the whole time they were trying to talk.

"So," Mitchell started as he looked over at her. "You look happy."

"I am," she told him.

"Is Derek-"

"I have not seen you since I was eighteen," she interrupted him. "When you told me to leave and never come back. You have no right to be in protective brother mode right now. You haven't earned the privilege."

"Got it," he sighed. "I'm sorry, Penny."

"For?"

"All of it," he sighed. "For how I treated you all those years. You didn't deserve it. It was just-how I needed to cope with everything. I thought dad was moving too fast in marrying your mom and adopting you."

"You didn't want me to be a part of your family." Penelope stated. "I could see it."

"That's not it exactly," he told her. "Back then, I thought I had to be the man of the house. That the burden of everything fell on me."

"That wasn't your job. You just made it your job."

"You're right," he nodded. "I spent many, many years in a fog. I barely remember my life. When I started rebelling in high school, everything just all went downhill fast. I couldn't stop it and I couldn't fix it."

"You fixing it now," she smiled at him. "I'm proud of you."

"I want to get to know the sister I have now," he looked at her. "You have a family now."

"It's not quite official yet,"

"But you're all a family."

"I love my life," she told him. "Sure I see things at work that often stay with me even though I don't want them too, but I wouldn't trade this life for anything. Well maybe I would trade seeing my family more."

"We'll work on it," Mitchell assured her. "So there's a custody battle going on involving Ryan?"

"Tim assures us that the judge won't change his mind when we have the follow-up at the beginning of the year."

"I hope not. Ryan seems like a good kid."

"You should see him when he's not sick," she smiled at him. "He's more talkative and very smart."

"I'll have to come back and see that for myself,"

"I'd like that," she smiled over at him. "Maybe around the holidays?"

"I'll see what I can do,"

"How's it going out here?" the screen door slid open and Derek walked out.

"Stop worrying so much Handsome," Penelope stood up to face him. "I'm fine. We're just making plans to get together more."

"Ryan is also worrying about you,"

"How's he doing?"

"He said his stomach doesn't hurt as much anymore," he told her as they all walked back inside. "But he keeps asking where you are."

They all walked back inside and Penelope immediately went to Ryan, who instantly snuggled up against her and rested his head in her lap. Derek smiled at the sight as he continued to talk with Joe and Michael in the kitchen as their wives offered to make them all some supper.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone started packing up and heading towards their cars. Derek and Ryan said their goodbyes to everyone before Derek took Ryan upstairs to help him get ready for bed. Penelope had a very long goodbye with all of them before they all eventually climbed into their vehicles and they waved to each other as they pulled out of the driveway.

Penelope walked into the master bedroom and smiled as she saw Ryan sleeping in the middle of the bed as Derek took his temperature. She quickly got ready for bed and joined them as Ryan moved closer to her.

"No temperature," Derek told her. "But I still made an appointment with the doctor for tomorrow."

"Probably a good idea," She nodded as she started to rub Ryan's back. "How are you feeling sweetie?"

"I want to stay in here with you," he mumbled.

"Of course you do," she agreed. "Why would you want to stay in a room by yourself when you're not feeling good?"

"Come on boy," Derek spotted Clooney coming into the room and just started to stare at them as he watched Ryan. "Get up here."

Penelope smiled as the pooch jumped onto the bed and got himself situated by Ryan as they all got settled. Derek turned out the light and they all eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _ **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. The next several chapters will deal with Ryan's first holidays with everyone. PLZ R&R!_

 ** _Thank you to everyone who gave me feedback on which story I should post next. And based on everyone's feedback the winner is..._**

 ** _STOLEN HEART_**

 ** _Now I am not saying that I won't be posting the other stories eventually. I'll just be posting Stolen Heart as my next story. I might actually be posting the first chapter within the next few hours or so. It depends if I feel that it needs to be tweaked or not. So if I don't post it by tonight, I'll most likely post it within the next couple of days. Keep your eyes open for it. Thank you!_**


	37. Chapter 37: Dad Guilt

_**AN:** So here's the long-awaited next chapter for this story. Sorry it took me so long. I had a little trouble with it. Anyway, I hope you like this, PLZ R &R! _

**_Disclaimer:_** _See first chapter._

* * *

 **Chapter 37: Dad Guilt**

Within a few days, with a lot of help from some antibiotics, Ryan was completely over the flu. Unfortunately, both Derek and Penelope caught it from him within a couple days after he was over it. So Ryan spent a few days with Dave at their house, while Fran slept over caring for her sick kids. Eventually, the virus affected the entire team, one-by-one. Reid was the last one to come down with it, surprising everyone, what with all the extra precaustions he took not to catch it from the others. Finally though, they were all a full team again.

Just in time for the Thanksgiving holidays coming up.

* * *

Penelope turned over in bed when she heard her phone going off. She sighed as she picked it up and read the text from JJ. She reached over to start to shake Derek when she realized that he was already awake and starting to sit up.

"Case?" he rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah," she sighed.

"Where?"

"Albany," she told him. "I'll call Dave."

Before she could dial, her phone went off with another text.

"Text from Dave," she told him. "Your mom's going to coming over in a little bit so that we don't have to wake up Ryan."

"Good," he nodded as they climbed out of bed and started to get ready.

Once they were dressed and Derek had his go bag in hand, they started downstairs to wait for Fran to arrive. Before he went downstairs, Derek slowly opened Ryan's bedroom door and saw him fast asleep and buried underneath the covers. He sighed as he shut the door again and went downstairs where Penelope was talking to his mom.

"He's still out," Derek told them. "So we didn't wake him up when we were getting ready."

"Good," Penelope smiled. "I was telling your mom that he can be difficult to get up in the mornings."

"I survived getting you up when you were younger," Fran looked at her son. "I think I'll be all right."

"Call me when he wakes up though," Penelope told her as she gathered her computer bag. "I'll conference him in with Derek if he's not on the jet."

"You got it," Fran closed the door behind them and watched as they pulled out of the driveway.

A few hours later, Fran walked into Ryan's room and Clooney immediately got up and stretched as Fran started to shake Ryan awake. He slowly sat up and looked around.

"Nana?" he asked softly as he spotted her there, smiling at him.

"Good morning, little one."

"Where's mom and dad?"

"They had to leave early. JJ called them about a case so they had to go in for the briefing. You go ahead and get dressed while I start to make you some breakfast."

"Ok," Ryan walked into his bathroom as Fran walked out of his bedroom.

Twenty minutes later, Ryan slowly came downstairs and went to let Clooney out into the backyard. He went back inside and started into the kitchen as he saw Fran placing a plate of scrambled eggs and toast on the counter.

"I always just have pop-tarts or toast on the mornings that I have school." he told her. "Sometimes I'll have cereal."

"Well I decided to make you breakfast this morning," she smiled at him as she poured him a glass of orange juice. "Now you eat up while I call your mom. She wanted me to call her when you were awake."

Ryan started slowly eating as Fran dialed a number on her phone. She waited for Penelope to answer on the other end as she watched Ryan at the counter.

"You've reached The Oracle Of All Knowing-"

"Penelope, it's Fran." she shook her head.

"Hey!" the excited voice answered. "Is Ryan awake?"

"He is right here eating breakfast," Fran held the phone out to Ryan and he took it from her.

"Mom?" Ryan spoke into it.

"Hey buddy, let me conference in your dad. They should've landed by now." Ryan waited as he heard a ringing and someone clicked it on. "Baby Girl? Do you have any new information for us?"

"Not yet," Penelope said. "But you're conferenced in with Ryan."

"Dad?" Ryan asked softly.

"Hey buddy," Derek spoke softly. "I'm sorry that we weren't there to wake you up this morning."

"Where are you?"

"Albany," Derek sighed.

"How long will you be gone?"

"However long it takes to solve this case, so I'm not sure."

"Oh. Will you be home by Wednesday? It's the last day of school before Thanksgiving break. They're having a Thanksgiving dinner for families and we're putting on a skit."

"I'm going to try really hard, ok buddy?"

"Ok,"

"But your mom will be there at night when I'm not there."

"Ok,"

"I got to go now. I love you buddy."

"Love you too,"

"I'm still here," Penelope's voice came on.

"I love you too, Baby Girl. I have to go now. Hotch is calling me to deliver the profile."

"Talk to you later, Sugar." Penelope said as she heard a click. "Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"How about if after your karate lesson this afternoon, I have Nana Fran bring you to the BAU. That way we can all go home together."

"Ok,"

"I'll see you then buddy. I love you."

"I love you too." they hung up and Ryan handed the phone back to Fran.

"You finish eating and I'll start to make your lunch." Fran looked at Ryan.

"You only have to make my sandwich. I pick out everything else."

"Well what kind of sanwich would you like today?"

"Bologna, if we have any. And swiss cheese with the Helman's mayonaise. The Miracle Whip is for Penelope."

"You got it," Fran smiled at him as he finished his breakfast and went to let in Clooney, who ran for his food and water dishes.

"Ok, I do believe that we got everything," Fran zipped up Ryan's lunchbag. "Do you have your Netbook?"

"Yeah," Ryan secured it in his bookbag and followed Fran outside and they climbed into her car.

"Is it hard for you, Nana?" Ryan asked after a few moments of silence.

"Is what hard?" she looked at him in the rearview mirror.

"Nono going out of town all the time," he said softly.

"The first few times it was hard," she told him. "But it got easier the more times he had to work out of town."

"I miss dad," Ryan mumbled.

"I know," Fran pulled up to the school. "But I also know that your dad and mom will be working their hardest to get the team back here as soon as possible."

"Yeah,"

"Now you run along and have fun today," she smiled at him. "I'll be here right after school to pick you up and take you to your karate lesson."

"And take me to see mom at work afterwards?" he looked at her. "She said that you would."

"Absolutely," she smiled as he opened the door.

"Bye Nana!" he closed the door after he had climbed out and ran to meet up with Malachi and Keaton.

Fran sighed as she pulled away from the school, hoping that this case was wrapped up fast.

* * *

Derek walked into the conference room where they had set up after they had finished giving the profile to the local PD. Reid was already drawing on a map trying to narrow down the geographical profile.

"How's Ryan?" Dave asked as he came in and handed out coffees to everyone.

"All right," Derek sighed.

"The first case back is always the hardest," JJ told him.

"It will get easier," Hotch added.

"He was asking if I would be home by Wednesday," Derek told them. "The school is having a Thanksgiving meal for the families of all the students."

"No matter what, we will get you home in time," Dave told him. "But I did call up some reinforcements just in case."

"Reinforcements?" Derek looked at him.

"You'll see," Dave smiled.

"We really need to solve this case fast,"

"Then we need to narrow down the suspect pool," Hotch said. "We need Garcia."

"On it," Derek took out his phone and dialed her number. "Hey, Baby Girl. We need your help."

"At your service..."

* * *

Sandy Cohen slowly walked into the luxurious hotel room followed closely behind by Seth. Sandy placed his things down on the king-sized bed as Seth set his book bag down on the twin bed beside it and climbed up to sit down.

"What are we doing here?" Seth asked.

"Your mother and I need a break from each other for awhile," Sandy sighed deeply.

"Does she know that we're here?"

"She's still in Virginia trying to get your granfather out of jail."

"Is this about her trying to take custody of Ryan away from his new family?"

"Yeah," Sandy sighed.

"What happened in court?"

"The judge said that Ryan will be staying where he is for right now. The final decision won't be made until after New Years."

"Did you get to see Ryan?"

"He wasn't there because he had the flu,"

"Oh,"

"Why don't you look through this?" Sandy picked up the room service menu and handed it to his son. "Pick out whatever you want to eat."

"Ok," Seth started looking through it, calling out what he wanted to order as Sandy sat down heavily on the bed.

Kirsten had stayed behind in Virginia after the court date to try to get her father released into her custody. As soon as he arrived back into Newport, Sandy made quick work calling all his contacts. Kirsten and her father weren't the only one with connections in this town.

"I'm ready to order," Seth announced and Sandy went to the phone.

"The food will be here in about thirty minutes," Sandy told him as he hung up the phone again.

Sandy lay back on his bed and picked up the TV remote as Seth climbed up beside him. He started flipping through the channels to try to find something to watch. Sandy stopped it on a cartoon show and they both lay back on the bed. Sandy knew that everything would get so much worse once his wife returned to town and discovered the empty house. He just needed something to get her attention. Something that would be her wake up call. He sighed as he yearned for the way that things used to be for them.

* * *

Ryan was still in his karate gee when he and Fran arrived at the BAU. They stopped to talk to Eric, the security guard before heading towards the elevator. They stepped out on the BAU floor and Ryan immediately ran ahead towards Penelope's office.

"Knock first!" Fran called. "She might be working."

"Mom?" Ryan knocked softly. "Can we come in?"

"Not yet!" Penelope's frantic voice drifted out to them. "Give me a minute!"

Penelope quickly typed in the search parameters as she had the rest of the team on speaker phone. She finally found what she was looking for and sent it to the others.

"And done!" she announced. "I just sent all the information for three possible unsubs to your phones."

"You're the best, Baby Girl!" Derek called.

"Video chat with your son tonight," she told him. "I sent the Harry Potter ebook to your email address so that you can still read it to him tonight."

"Thanks a bunch. Now we got to go catch us a bad guy!"

"Be careful my loves!" Penelope told them. "Garcia out!"

Penelope made sure all her computers screens were blank before she went to open her office door. She smiled as Ryan ran into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"I missed you," he told her.

"I missed you too," she lifted him into her arms. "But guess what?"

"What?"

"I get to go home now. I just sent some information to the team that will hopefully help them track down the bad guy."

"So dad will be home soon?"

"If they can track down the bad guy," she put him down. "Sometimes they can be very sneaky."

"Dad will catch them," Ryan told her. "He always does."

"Let's head home and get something to eat," Penelope smiled at Fran. "I want to hear all about your day. And especially your karate lesson."

"It was so fun..." Ryan started rambling as they all walked into the elevator and started to make their way down to the parking garage.

Penelope and Fran smiled as they all climbed into Fran's car as Ryan continued to tell them all about his karate lesson. They knew that this would be a tough case, and it had nothing to do with the details of the case. They knew that the first case back would be the hardest for both Derek and Ryan. They just hoped that this case would be wrapped up fast and the team would be back in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

* * *

 ** _AN:_** _So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. Will be posting the next chapter to Stolen Heart within the next hour. PLZ R &R!_


	38. Chapter 38: Just In Time

**AN:** So here's another update for all of you I hope you all like this. PLZ R &R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

To Guest:

In regards to your review, I'm sorry that you feel that I have so many stories that you can't keep them straight. But I only have TWO stories going right now. This one and Stolen Heart. If you're confused about anything, just go back and re-read the stories. That will solve your question about where Ryan came from. As for Garcia having a baby and who it belongs to, I just started that story. I'm still writing it so your questions will be answered soon. Thank you for the review though. Happy reading!

* * *

 **Chapter 38: Just In Time**

Penelope and Fran were backstage in the auditorium of Ryan's school. Penelope was putting the final touches on Ryan's costume before he had to go on stage and do the skit. Fran kept checking her phone for any new messages from her husband or son. The team had wrapped up the case the night before; they had stayed until they had finished all the paperwork and had boarded the plane early that morning to make sure that Derek got back in time for Ryan's Thanksgiving program.

"Where's dad?" Ryan asked again as Penelope applied the face paint.

"He is on his way, I promise."

"You said that earlier," Ryan stated. "I thought that it only takes them an hour to fly from New York on the jet."

"He will be here, little one." Fran adjusted his head piece.

"Surprise!" they all looked back in shock at the two people standing before them.

"Aunt Sarah, Aunt Desiree!" Ryan ran to them. "What are you doing here?"

"You weren't supposed to be here until later on tonight." Fran told them.

"Dave called us when they started the case," Sarah smiled at him. "He told us that he changed our flight plan just in case they couldn't make it in time."

"Well I think they will now," Fran looked at her phone as she got a text. "The jet just landed and they are on their way."

"Ryan, are you ready?" Mrs. Oberman came to get him. "It's time to take your place with everyone else."

"But dad's not here yet," he said softly.

"It's all right," Penelope assured him. "I will record the entire play. If he doesn't make it in time, we can all watch it together later ok?"

"Ok," Ryan mumbled as he followed his teacher out to where the rest of his classmates were lined up.

Penelope, Fran and the girls walked out and sat in their assigned seats in the front row. Penelope took out her phone and readied the video camera as she glanced at the other three. They knew that they were all thinking the same thing; Dave had better pull off a miracle and get Derek here in time.

* * *

Derek sat in the passenger side of Dave's car as they raced through town. Derek's leg started shaking as he glanced at the time again. He sighed deeply as Dave quickly swerved around the lunchtime traffic.

"How much longer?" Derek asked yet again.

"We're almost there," Dave told him as he made the turn onto the road that would take them to Ryan's school.

"I can't miss this," Derek sighed.

"Here we are," Dave skidded to a stop by the curb in front of the main doors of the school. "I'll park the car, just get in there."

Derek jumped out of the car and raced inside. He sprinted down the halls and found the doors to the auditorium and yanked them open. The lights were just starting to dim as he scanned the rows for his family.

"Front row, Mr. Morgan." the principal spotted him. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Me too," he hurriedly went to the front row and slipped into the seat next to Penelope and she smiled at him.

"You made it,"

"Just barely."

"Where's Dave?" Fran asked.

"He's on his way in. He just had to park the car." Derek told them as spotted his sisters sitting on the other side of Penelope. "So I take it that you guys are the reinforcements that Dave was telling me about?"

"You got it, Big Brother." Desiree told him.

"Thank you," he smiled at them.

"Did I miss anything?" Dave slid in beside Fran.

"It's starting now," Penelope hushed them as she pressed record on her phone.

"Excellent costume," Derek commented. "You guys did an excellent job on it for him."

Ryan slowly followed his classmates out onto the stage and filed in front of the makeshift dinner table in the middle of the stage. He was dressed in a full-on American Indian costume complete with all the necessary face paint and full head dress. Ryan turned to face the audience and smiled brightly once he saw that Derek and Dave had joined everyone else. He waved to them enthusiastically and they all waved back at him. They all settled in and watched the production as Ryan and his classmates put on the play and ended it with the entire school singing, 'This Land Is Your Land'.

* * *

The group slowly filed into the cafeteria and sat down at one of the long tables as the kitchen staff finished setting all the food out on the long row of tables. Ryan clung to Derek as they all sat down.

"You did very well," Dave smiled at him from across the table.

"Thank you," Ryan said softly. "I'm glad you made it in time."

"Me too," Derek looked down at him. "I know it's hard for you when we have to go out of town, but unfortunately it's a reality for me, Dave and Penelope."

"I know," Ryan nodded.

"Welcome everyone," Principal Armstrong quieted the room. "Our Thanksgiving feast is now starting. We will begin with the younger grades and work our way up. So Kindergarteners, please make your way up here with your families."

They all sat talking as Sarah and Desiree updated them on what was going on in Chicago. Derek looked down at Ryan and saw him smiling brightly at everyone.

"So will there be a Christmas production too?" Derek asked him.

"Well-" Ryan started.

"Go ahead and tell him," Penelope told him as she and Fran smiled.

"Tell me what?" Derek looked at them.

"We're going to do A Charlie Brown Christmas," Ryan told them.

"Aww, I always loved watching that movie." Desiree said. "It's a tradition every year on Christmas Eve."

"Were there tryouts already?" Derek asked.

"No tryouts," Penelope told him. "Everyone drew what character they're going to play from a hat."

"And what part did you draw?" Derek looked at Ryan.

"Snoopy," he said softly. (Reference to The OC Season One episodes, The Homecoming and The Heartbreak)

"Really?" he smiled at him.

"We've already started designing the costume," Fran told him. "We told him that he would get final say over everything."

"Well I can't wait to see you play Snoopy," Derek looked at Ryan. "And I will make sure that I won't miss it. I still have some vacation time to use up before the end of the year. The Christmas holiday is as good a reason to use it as any."

Ryan's grade was called up and they all followed the big group up to the buffet table that was set up. Every family was asked to donate some kind of food item for the feast so all the long tables were packed with food.

"This spread is amazing," Dave commented.

"These had to have been made by my Baby Girl," Derek took a couple of the frosted red velvet cookies from one of the platters.

"Guilty," she smiled as they all made their way back to their table.

"So I invited the whole team over for dinner tomorrow," Fran told them. "Penelope and Ryan already said that they're going to spend the night at our place tonight."

"We're helping Nana bake," Ryan said.

"Sounds good," Derek stated. "Can I sleep in?"

"If you're able to," Penelope smiled at him.

"This food is amazing," Sarah commented.

"It really is," Derek stated.

They all finished the meal and stayed behind to help all the families and staff clean up the cafeteria. There was plenty of food left over that Principal Armstrong said would be sent to the area shelters. Derek and Penelope walked with Ryan back to where his first class was held so that he could collect his things. They all walked out of the school and started the walk to Penelope's car.

"So where to?" Penelope asked them.

"Home," Derek sighed.

"What about Nana's?" Ryan asked from the backseat.

"We'll go over later tonight," Derek told him. "Right now, I want to spend some time with my family."

Derek sent a text to his mom letting her know their plans as Penelope pulled away from the school. A few minutes later, they pulled into their driveway and they all started inside. Derek took his go bag to the laundry room and rejoined them in the kitchen as Penelope got out a snack for all of them.

"So how were your lessons this week?" Derek looked at Ryan.

"I started learning a song!" Ryan told him. "It's only a few chords-and it's Mary Had A Little Lamb-but it's a song!"

"You are on your way to full-on rock stardom," Derek told him.

"I still have a long way to go," Ryan said.

"But still, you're on your way. Every great musician had to start somewhere."

The next several hours was spent with the three of them catching up with everything that they had missed since Derek left for the case. Penelope downloaded the video of the play onto Derek's phone so that he could show it to everyone later. Ryan brought out his sketchbook and showed him what he had done and informed them that he had decided to sign up for the art competition. They had ice cream sundaes as Ryan told him what all they did at school that week as Derek smiled at him.

"Let's head out!" Derek called up the stairs as they were finishing getting ready to head over to Fran and Dave's.

"Hang on!" Penelope called as her and Ryan came down stairs with their overnight bags. "I need to grab a few things from the pantry."

Derek took their overnight bags out to put in the trunk of his car and came back in to see Penelope and Ryan each carrying a bag full of ingredients.

"Just a few things?" he asked them.

"We're helping your mom to make the dinner tomorrow," she told him. "And I'm making the dessert."

"No complaints," Derek held his hand up in surrender. "If you have everything, let's head out."

"Come on, Clooney!" Ryan called and the pooch followed them out as Derek locked up behind them.

A few minutes later, Derek pulled into his mom's driveway. They all got out and started unloading their things as they noticed a familiar car parked in front of them.

"Why is Spencer here?" Ryan asked as he grabbed his overnight bag.

"I'm not sure," Derek told him as he grabbed the rest of their things and they all headed inside.

Penelope led the way into the kitchen so that she could put away the things that she had brought to help with the meal the next day. Derek took their overnight bags upstairs and put them in one of the guestrooms. Dave and Fran came out to them as Derek came back downstairs. He scanned the area for his sisters and saw them in the living room talking with Reid as he sat with them.

"So what's going on?" Penelope asked. "Why is Reid here?"

"He called me a little bit ago," Dave told them. "Asking if the invitation for Thanksgiving was still open to him."

"I thought he was going out to see his mom," Ryan spoke up.

"Her doctor called him earlier," Fran told them. "Advised him not to come out, stating that it would disrupt her new treatment. She just started some some new meds and they haven't evened out her moodswings yet."

"How bad is it?" Penelope asked.

"He wouldn't say," Dave sighed. "I didn't want to force it out of him, so I just told him to come over. Desiree told him to stay overnight."

"He also said that he has something to tell all of us," Fran said. "But that it had to wait until you three got here."

"That seems suspicious," Derek said.

"Hey," Reid came into them, followed closely behind by Sarah and Desiree.

"Hey man," Derek smiled at him. "How you doing?"

"I'm ok,"

"I'm sorry about your mom Spencer," Ryan said softly.

"Thank you," he smiled down at him.

"So I hear you have something to tell us?" Penelope looked at him.

"Yeah," Reid said as they all crowded around the counter. "This may not be the best time to tell you all this, but I've kind of been seeing someone."

"Really?" Penelope clapped her hands in excitement.

"You're dating?" Derek smiled. "All right, it's about time."

"Hold onto your enthusiasm because you might not feel that way in a few minutes." Reid told them.

"Why?" Derek asked. "Are you getting serious with whoever it is?"

"Yeah, I think we are." Reid sighed. "It didn't start out that way. We had to keep it casual. So we spoke on the phone, chatted online, and I would take the train down to see her on the weekends that we didn't have a case."

"So she lives out of town?" Penelope smiled. "Where does she live?"

"Chicago," Reid revealed and they all noticed how both Desiree and Ryan inched closer to Reid on either side, as if trying to protect him from something-or someone.

"No way-" Derek started.

"I've been seeing Spencer," Desiree announced to the shocked room, and everyone turned their attention to Derek, trying to gauge his reaction to the big news.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? What will Derek's reaction be? I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!


	39. Chapter 39: Family Chaos

**AN:** Here's the next update for all of you. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 39: Family Chaos**

"I've been seeing Spencer," Desiree announced to the shocked room, and everyone turned their attention to Derek, trying to gauge his reaction to the big news.

"Seriously?" Derek finally spoke. "You two are dating?"

"Yeah," Reid said softly.

"When did this happen?" Fran asked.

"We kind of bonded when we were fixing up Derek's house for Ryan's homecoming," Desiree told them.

"How did we not see that?" Dave asked.

"We kept it very low-key back then."

"And it seems as though they've had a co=conspirator," Derek looked at Ryan and he smiled innocently at him. "How long have you know about them?"

"Since I started my new school," he smiled at them. "I'm surprised you guys didn't figure it out sooner."

"What do you mean?" Penelope looked at him.

"You're the ones who described Spencer as a technophobe. He's always on his laptop. Which that should've clued you in that something was going on. That Spencer had a laptop now."

"The kid is right," Dave stated.

"So?" Reid looked at Derek. "Are you ok with this?"

"Are you two happy?" he asked them softly.

"Yes," they both said in unison.

"Then I'm happy for you," he told them. "Just don't hurt each other."

"You're really ok with this?" Spencer asked him again.

"As long as things don't get too uncomfortable, I'm fine with it."

"Oh you're one to talk," Sarah mumbled. "Do you know how uncomfortable it is for us when you and your Baby Girl start in?"

"Try having to call her for a case," Dave told them. "And they start in when they're on speaker phone."

"We are not that bad," Derek told them.

"Yes, you are. Hotch is about ready to ban you from talking on the phone during a case."

"So is everybody ok with them then?" Ryan asked suddenly.

"Yes, we're fine with it." Derek assured him.

"Good," Ryan took Spencer's hand. "Come on then."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to show you Ryan's Thanksgiving performance," Penelope followed them as she took out her phone.

"I knew the kid was up to something," Dave stated. "I just never thought that he was covering for those two."

"Weird combination," Derek said. "Those two-"

"As I remember correctly, everyone said the same thing about me and Dave." Fran looked at her son as Dave wrapped his arms around her. "And about you and Penelope as well."

"Touche," Dave smiled as they heard laughter coming from the sitting room.

After Reid had watched Ryan's performance at least twice. Ryan had turned on the XBOX and was showing Reid how to play a game. Desiree sat next to him and told him what to do.

"No, press the A button." Desiree told him.

"I don't play video games," Reid said as she finally took the controller from him.

"Well if you're going to be spending time with Ryan, you're going to have to learn." Sarah told him.

"She's right," Derek joined them. "But why are you guys starting him out on a combat game?"

"Ryan wanted to play it," Reid told him.

"At least choose a strategy game if you're going to play with Reid," Derek told them. "Or one of those role playing games you like. Like Zelda or Harry Potter or something like that."

"You know, if I had Minecraft-" Ryan started.

"Forget about it," Derek shook his head at him. "But Christmas is coming up soon though. Maybe if you ask Santa-"

"Do you really think that I still believe in Santa Claus?" Ryan looked at him.

"Why wouldn't you believe in Santa Claus?"

"I stopped believing in fairy tales when I was five."

Everyone got silent as Ryan restarted the game. Derek didn't know what to say; he never did whenever Ryan made a subtle comment about his life in Chino.

"Supper is ready," Dave came into them, sensing the tension.

Ryan turned off the video game as they all got up and joined Dave at the table as Fran finished bringing everything out.

* * *

After supper was over and cleaned up, they all watched a couple movies before heading off towards the guestrooms for the night. Derek was trying to get Ryan settled down for the night, but he was still all wound up. He blamed all the ice cream that he knew his mom let him have.

"Come on Ryan!" Penelope called. "Time for bed!"

"I'm busy!"

Dave shook his head at all the commotion going on upstairs. He secretly enjoyed all the chaos; it got too quiet around the big house with just him, Fran and Mudgie.

"Ow!" the painful yelp sounded as there was a loud crash from upstairs.

"Take down!" Ryan's voice sounded.

"What happened up there?" Fran called as she finished locking up the downstairs.

"Ryan just sneak attacked Reid," Penelope called.

"Don't worry, nothing broke!" Derek called down to her.

"Kids," Fran shook her head as she came into the kitchen after getting all the lights.

"You love it," Dave told her.

"Maybe a little," she admitted. "The house is way too quiet."

"That it is," Dave nodded.

"Are you all right kid?" Derek looked at Reid trying to stand up again.

"Fine," he stood up. "I've had worse in the field."

"I'm sorry, Spencer." Ryan said softly.

"It's ok," Reid smiled down at him. "No worries."

"Time to call it a night," Derek led Ryan to his room that was right next to the one that he was sharing with Penelope.

"But I'm not tired," Ryan said.

"Then you can lay here until you fall asleep," Derek helped him into the bed and covered him. "We read you two chapters from Harry Potter earlier, you have your water..."

"And here's Clooney," Penelope came in with the pooch. "Time to settle down or you won't have any energy to help us in the morning."

"Ok," Ryan said softly.

"Alligator and blanket," Derek brought them from his overnight bag. "Now good night. I love you."

"I love you too," Ryan said softly.

"We're right next door if you need us," Penelope leaned down to kiss his forehead and he nodded.

They left his door open just a crack and walked into the room they were using. Derek collapsed onto the bed and she smiled at him.

"Tired?" she asked as she crawled in beside him.

"Exhausted," he sighed. "Between the ride back on the jet and him not wanting to go to sleep..."

"Wait until the night before Christmas,"

"Did you hear what he said earlier?"

"About Santa," she nodded. "Some kids just stop believing before others. They way he grew up, I'm not that surprised."

"I guess," he sighed. "We just need to make sure he has the best Christmas this year."

"I was actually looking online today. I saw this Art set that I thought he might like. I'll show you the website tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Derek yawned. "He is going to get majorly spoiled by everyone."

"He deserves it,"

"Yes he does," Derek reached over to turn out the light and they got settled in and fell asleep not long after that.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? Sorry it's so short. The next chapter will be longer. I hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!


	40. Chapter 40: First Thanksgiving

**AN:** I got this out before I left for my trip this weekend! Yay for me! I hope you like this chapter. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 40: First Thanksgiving**

Derek slowly awoke as he felt shaking. He blinked his eyes open and saw Ryan sitting beside him on the bed and starting to shake him again.

"Hey buddy," he slowly sat up as he rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Almost ten," he told him. "I've been up for a few hours."

"What have you been doing?"

"I was helping mom and Nana bake for tonight." Ryan climbed onto his lap. "The parade is starting now. Come watch it with us."

"Is it all right if I take a shower first?"

"Ok," Ryan got off the bed. "I'll make sure that Nono DVRs it so that we can watch it all later."

"Great idea," Derek smiled as Ryan ran out of the room and he started into the bathroom to take a shower.

A little while later, Derek came down the stairs as he smelled all the aromas coming from the kitchen. He walked in and saw Penelope, his mom, and sisters bustling from one end of the kitchen to the other.

"Morning Handsome," Penelope smiled. "I'm glad you're finally awake."

"Everything smells good," he told them.

"So we changed eating time to six o'clock," Fran told him.

"Why?"

"Ryan mentioned that he missed his old friends at the orphanage," Penelope told him. "So I called Mark and he said that we could come by around lunchtime and eat with all of them."

"So we're making a few extra things to take along," Sarah told him.

"I'm all for it," Derek said.

"Dad," Ryan ran into them. "Come on, the Toy Story float is on right now."

"Right behind you," Derek followed behind him and joined Reid and Dave in the sitting room.

"Did you get kicked out of the kitchen too?" Dave asked him.

"I probably would've sooner or later," Derek got settled on the couch beside Ryan as they watched the parade together.

* * *

Derek pulled up to the curb in front of the familiar building as Dave's car parked right behind him. They all climbed out of their cars as they all carried all the food they had made and made their way inside.

"So where are they eating?" Derek asked.

"Probably the dining room," Penelope told him.

"Right," he nodded as Ryan took his hand and he looked down at him. "Are you excited to see all your friends again?"

Ryan shrugged and Derek looked at his mom and sisters. Without a word, Desiree and Sarah took the bags of food and started down the hall as Fran followed behind them with Dave and Reid.

"What's the matter, buddy?" Derek crouched down in front of him. "Aren't you happy to be seeing your friends again?"

"What if they don't like me anymore?" Ryan asked softly.

"Now why wouldn't they like you?" Penelope knelt before him as well.

"They might be mad at me," Ryan revealed.

"And why is that?" Derek asked him.

"I have a family now. They're still waiting for theirs."

"If they were really your friends, then they would be happy for you."

"Besides, I think a couple of them might have some big news for you today." Penelope smiled at him.

"What do you mean?" Ryan looked at her.

"You'll just have to see,"

"Come on kid," Derek stood up and took his hand. "There are a few surprises waiting for you today."

"Ok," Ryan said softly as the three of them started walking down the hallway again.

Penelope opened the door and they all spotted all the kids and quite a few adults as the food was placed on all of the tables. Ryan's eyes widened at the scene before him; some of the adults he didn't recognize, but quite a few of them he did.

"Aunt Emily!" Ryan ran to her as she was helping with all the plates. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm spending Thanksgiving with you," she smiled at him as he spotted the rest of his extended family all around the room helping out in some way or another.

"But we're all supposed to have supper together tonight."

"Well Penelope called and told me what you guys had planned," she told him. "I decided that I'd rather be here than sitting alone until it was time to go to Dave's."

"We're glad you came, Buttercup." Penelope smiled at her.

"Hello Ryan," A voice was heard behind them.

"Mark," Ryan smiled at him. "Is Nathan still here?"

"He's over in the corner," Mark pointed. "And he has some big news to share with you."

"What kind of news?"

"He wants to tell you himself."

"Ok," Ryan ran off to find his former roommate.

"Thank you for setting up that website," Mark looked at Penelope. "You have no idea how much help it was."

"Website?" Derek joined the group. "What website?"

"I may or may not have set up an awesome website a few months ago," Penelope smiled at Derek. "That may or may not have been for this orphanage."

"And it may or may not have helped a few of the kids here get adopted," Mark told him as he pointed to the corner of the room, where Ryan was talking to another boy about his age as they stood with a young couple.

"Even if they aren't able to adopt or at least foster one of the kids, they can still help the orphanage by donating their unused items."Penelope smiled.

"Great idea," Emily nodded.

"Am I seeing things?" JJ and Will came up to them.

"What do you mean?" Emily looked at her and she pointed across the room, where Reid and Desiree were setting out some of the food. "They look awfully close."

"Yeah, there was a little announcement made yesterday." Derek told them. "They've been in contact with each other for the past several months."

"Reid and your sister are dating?" Will looked at Derek.

"It was a shock for all of us," Derek told them.

"Except for Ryan," Penelope told them. "He was their cover. That's how we didn't figure it out. Ryan was there to keep it covered-up."

"Our little co-conspirator." Derek added.

"I think they'll be good for each other," JJ told them. "She can keep him on his toes."

"And is able to shut him up when he starts to ramble," Derek added.

"That's always a plus," Emily said.

"We heard that!" they heard Reid and Desiree's voices not that far away.

"All right everyone!" Mark clapped his hands. "Looks like we're all set up, so please grab a seat and I'll say Grace before we get started."

Ryan ran over to the group as Jack and Henry were followed by Hotch. Everyone bowed their heads and Mark said a quick prayer before they all sat down and started passing out all the food.

"Nathan's getting adopted," Ryan looked at Derek.

"Really?" he smiled at him.

"Yep," he nodded. "They can't take him home yet, but they wanted to spend Thanksgiving with him. They hope to have him home by Christmas."

"That's great," Penelope smiled at him.

"And they live near us, so-"

"We will be sure to get their information before we leave."

"It's so sad," Sarah commented as she looked around the room.

"What?" Fran looked at her daughter.

"It's hard to imagine the possibility that no one will want these kids," she glanced at all the tables full of kids. "Most of them will probably just age out of the system."

"Most likely," Dave nodded. "Unfortunately, that's a harsh reality."

They all spent the next few hours at the orphanage. They ate Thanksgiving dinner with them and stuck around to play games with them. Mark took them on a tour of the orphanage and showed them all the improvements he planned on making to the place. Ryan went to see his old room as he hung out with Nathan and his soon-to-be parents. Finally, they all had to leave if they planned on having their family meal on time.

"So did you like seeing all your old friends today?" Derek looked back at Ryan as everyone pulled into Dave and Fran's driveway.

"I missed them," he said softly as they all started inside.

"Anytime you want to go see them, you just tell us." Penelope told him. "And if we're able to, we'll take you."

"Ok," he smiled at them as they walked into the kitchen and Saw Fran and the girls checking on the food that had slow-cooked the entire time they had been gone.

"Almost ready," Fran announced. "I need the table set."

"On it," Dave got the table extenders in so they would all fit at the table as Derek and Will got out the good tableware for special occasions.

Twenty minutes later, all the food was placed out in the middle of the table as everyone finished getting settled. Dave spoke a few words, but realized that they didn't need to go around and say what they were thankful for. Because looking around at all of them crowded around the table, he knew what they all would say: They were all thankful for Family.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. I won't be able to update again right away. PLZ R&R!


	41. Chapter 41: Ryan's First (And Last)

**AN:** It's almost Midnight here, but I wanted to get the next update out for all of you. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

 **WARNING!:** Before any of you proceeds, I feel that I need to warn you that this chapter involves bigotry. Proceed with caution.

* * *

 **Chapter 41: Ryan's First (And Last) Fight**

The week after Thanksgiving was a busy week for everyone. At work, there seemed to be one case right after another to keep the entire team busy. Thankfully, most of them were local so they didn't have to be out of town for that long. At school, all of Ryan's classes were dedicated to helping all the students prepare for mid-terms that would take place just before winter break.

Derek slumped into the chair before his desk after returning from getting yet another cup of coffee. He was trying to finish up the case file he was working on so that he could actually get home at a decent time that night.

"Long night?" Reid looked over at him.

"That's an understatement," Derek sighed deeply.

"What's going on?" Prentiss rejoined them.

"Ryan has been driving us crazy all week," he sighed. "He's been walking around with at least one of his schoolbooks attached to his hands. He keeps asking us to quiz him."

"The kid is beyond smart," JJ came up to them as well. "How can he not pass all those midterms?"

"Try telling him that. I dare you."

"Derek," Penelope rushed down to them. "You need to answer line one. It's Ryan's school."

"Why is the school calling?" Derek looked at her. "He just barely finished lunch."

"Just answer it," she gave him a look until he picked it up.

"This is Derek Morgan," he spoke and they all watched as he sat up fully at what he was being told on the other end. "Ryan did what? That doesn't sound like him. Yes, I'm on my way. Yes, she'll be coming with me. Thank you."

"What happened?" Emily asked as he hung up his desk phone.

"Ryan was involved in a fight," Derek stood up from his desk and started gathering his things.

"What?"

"Ryan doesn't have a mean bone in his body," JJ stated. "For him to get into a fight-"

"He said he was involved in the fight," Reid spoke up.

"Exactly," Derek nodded. "The principal wants all the parents of all the kids involved down at the school."

"I'll let Hotch know," JJ told them. "Good luck."

"This isn't right," Derek stated as he pulled out of the parking garage. "Ryan would not get into a fight."

"Let's hear what happened first," Penelope told him and he nodded.

* * *

They reached the school and started to walk inside. They got to the area outside the office and saw at least five sets of parents, including Malachi's and Keaton's.

"Derek," Malachi's mom spotted them. "Penelope."

"Sheila," Penelope embraced her. "Do you know anything?"

"Nothing," Malachi's dad, Steve, came over to them. "The principal is talking to all the kids still."

"This makes absolutely no sense," Keaton's mom and dad, Matt and Kate, came over to them. "None of these boys would get into a fight."

"My thoughts exactly," Derek nodded as the office door opened and the secretary held the door open for them.

"We've separated all parties involved for the time being," she informed them all as they spotted three more boys-other than Ryan, Malachi and Keaton-each of them in a different area of the room. "Principal Armstrong will be out in a moment to talk to all of you."

"Uh-oh," Penelope spotted Ryan sitting in his area with his arms wrapped around his middle and shaking. "He has that 'I'm getting sent back' look again."

Derek sighed as they walked over to Ryan and sat on either side of him. He didn't acknowledge them; he just started to rock back and forth.

"What happened buddy?" Derek looked at him.

"It's my fault," Ryan mumbled.

"That doesn't answer my question,"

"My fault," Ryan said again.

"No matter what we hear, it won't change how we feel about you," Penelope embraced him. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," he said softly as the door to the principal's office opened.

"I need all of the parents to come into my office," Principal Armstrong told them. "Boys, remain where you are. And no talking."

Derek and Penelope followed the group of parents into the inner office and they each took their seats in front of the desk.

"All right," Principal Armstrong opened the file that was in front of him. "There have been several witnesses that came forward. And it seems that the incident escalated outside of music class. Ryan Atwood was heading into his class with Malachi Carter and Keaton Long when the other three boys, Bobby Stevens, Chad McDonal, and Michael Walsh approached the group. I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but it ended with the strings on Ryan's guitar getting cut."

"What?" Derek started up out of his seat, but Penelope held onto him firmly.

"I believe that I know who is at fault here-" Principal Armstrong started.

"Of course we know," one of the mother's of the other three boys interrupted. "It was obviously that boy."

"Excuse me?" Derek saw her point in his direction. "The strings on my son's guitar are cut, and it's his fault?"

"We all know about his background,"

"You mean that he was dealt a bad hand? And now I'm giving him the life that he's deserved from the beginning?"

"People like him will never prevail."

"Ryan doesn't have a mean bone in his body," Penelope spoke up.

"He wouldn't have started the fight," Keaton's mom spoke up.

"I agree," Principal Armstrong interrupted. "Ryan, Malachi and Keaton have been model students since they started here. This is the first time they've been called into this office."

"Bobby, Chad and Michael however," Principal Armstrong continued. "Have had numerous visits here for fighting. I'm going to assume that the three of them ganged up on the other three. There is a zero tolerance policy on fighting or bullying here."

"Principal Armstrong," the secretary came into them with a young girl. "We have another witness."

"Meaghan?"the principal looked at her. "Everyone this is Meaghan Phillips. She moved here just a few weeks ago."

"She said she witnessed the whole fight," the secretary continued. "And she overheard it too."

"Come on in," Principal Armstrong beckoned. "I know it's overwhelming with everyone here, but can you tell us what you saw and heard?"

"Ryan was getting his guitar out to get ready for class," she started. "Malachi and Keaton were just talking to him when Bobby, Chad and Michael approached them."

"They started saying really mean things about all of them, but they were really mean to Ryan."

"What do you mean?" Principal Armstrong urged her on.

"They knew about his real family and Bobby said something about Ryan's new parents."

"And what did he say?"

"It was bad," she said softly as she glanced at Derek and Penelope before turning back to the principal.

"I have a pretty good idea what was said," Derek spoke up. "And it's ok sweetie. I've heard that type of thing all my life, so you can go ahead and tell us."

"Bobby said that his dad told him that there shouldn't ever be any mixing of cultures," Meaghan stated. "And he said the N-word. Ryan got upset and that's when they cut the guitar strings. One of them had a Swiss army knife."

"Thank you Meaghan," Principal Armstrong smiled at her. "You can go on back to class now."

"Let's go," the secretary led her out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

"I have heard quite enough," Principal Armstrong stated. "Chad, Bobby and Michael are hereby expelled from this school. Ryan, Malachi and Keaton are excused for the rest of the day. They will have no repercussions."

"This is ridiculous," Mr. Stevens stood up.

"One of them had a weapon," Principal Armstrong stood to face the angry parent. "You may think that the three of them can get away with anything, but they can't. Not here."

"I am all about giving second chances, but those three are on their sixth chance by now. I want all of their belongings removed from the premises by the end of the school day. This final incident I can't just let slide. Agent Morgan, is there anything that you would like from them?"

"Only one thing," Derek stood up. "I would appreciate it if they would all split the cost to cover the fee of us having to take Ryan's guitar to get fixed."

"Agreed," Principal Armstrong stated. "Bring the bill in and I will send the bill to all three families."

"This is ridiculous," Mr. Walsh stated.

"And unfair," Mr. Stevens added.

"I think it's unfair that my son has to go several weeks with no guitar lessons because his guitar is getting fixed because of your three boys."

"Derek," Penelope tugged on his arm. "If this is settled, we should probably go."

"It's all settled," Principal Armstrong assured them. "I look forward to seeing Ryan in attendance here tomorrow."

"Thank you," Derek shook the principal's hand before walking out of the office, followed by Malachi and Keaton's parents.

"Let's go kiddo," Derek gathered up Ryan's book bag as he scrambled off the chair.

"Am I suspended?" he asked softly.

"You're not in trouble," Penelope assured him as she took his hand. "He's just excusing you for the rest of the day."

* * *

Ryan was silent the entire car ride as Penelope texted JJ and told her what was going on. Hotch texted her a few minutes later and excused them both from work for the rest of the day. Derek put the car in park and Ryan looked up at the building in front of them.

"What are we doing here?" he asked softly as Penelope opened the back door to let him out.

"We need this," Derek told him.

"You're rewarding me for getting into a fight?"

"We're not rewarding you," Derek opened the door to the ice cream parlor. "But we do need to talk."

"I'll just order us three ice cream sundaes." Penelope stopped at the front counter to place their order as Derek led Ryan to a nearby table.

"Now I know the official story from Principal Armstrong," Derek looked at Ryan. "Can I hear your side now?"

"Why?"

"So that I know what happened," Derek stated as Penelope joined them. "Just tell us what you remember."

"Keaton and I walked out of Art and we met up with Malachi and we all walked to Music together," Ryan started to explain. "We walked into the Music room and I was getting my guitar out. It was a free day, so I brought my guitar in to show the teacher what I'm learning in my lessons. But then Bobby, Chad and Michael approached us. They always gave us a hard time."

"And why is that?"

"Well I'm new-they always call us freaks-they just like to bother us a lot."

"And why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't want to be the dork that rats people out," Ryan said.

"I can understand that," Penelope looked at Derek. "Trust me."

"Continue," Derek turned back to Ryan.

"They know all about me. They started talking about Dawn and Frank and Trey-how my real family didn't want me-and how not even my foster family wanted me-and that I should just jump at any family that shows interest in me."

"And they said some things about you," Ryan continued. "Bad things. Things that they shouldn't say. And I think I ran at them-I can't remember the whole thing-and the next thing I know is my teacher is coming in and my guitar strings were cut."

"Ok there will be no repercussions from school," Derek started as their sundaes were brought out to them. "But there will be some from me."

Derek waited until the waitress had left their table before turning back to Ryan, who was slowly eating out of the bowl.

"For the next week, there will be no electronics except for what you need to use for school." Derek told him. "That means no TV, no XBOX, no using our laptops or tablets. You will only get to use your Netbook if it pertains to school. Understand?"

"Yes," Ryan said softly.

"As for what those boys said," Penelope looked at Derek.

"First, you know that Dawn, Frank and Trey chose their own paths when they did all that they did." Derek said and Ryan nodded.

"And the Cohen's did want you," Penelope added. "You just didn't want them."

"And we definitely want you," Derek moved so that he was sitting closer to Ryan. "It's like my life finally started when you, me and Penelope all started living together officially."

"Ok,"

"Now I also know what those boys said about me," Derek said and Ryan seemed to tense up.

"That was a really bad word," Ryan whispered. "No one should say it."

"I agree," Penelope told them.

"Unfortunately, I've heard it for most of my life." Derek told them. "It used to hurt me when I was a kid, but it got easier."

"How?" Ryan looked up at him. "How did it get easier to hear that word?"

"Because I eventually realized that the people who said that to me had nothing clever to say. They said it because they couldn't come up with a better insult. So it doesn't bother me."

"I was just defending you," Ryan said.

"There are better ways to do it," Penelope told him and he nodded as they all finished their ice cream.

"So it's Wednesday," Derek said as they all walked out of the parlor after he paid for their ice cream. "Which means that you have a horseback riding lesson today. So we better hurry and get over to the stables."

* * *

A little while later, Derek and Penelope were standing by the wooden fence at the stables as they watched Ryan with his instructor. They heard a car pull up and turned back to see Dave and Fran approaching them.

"You call them?" Derek looked at Penelope.

"While you were helping Ryan get his equipment ready," she told him. "Your mother especially needs to know."

"I'm fine," Derek looked at his mom as they approached.

"But is Ryan?" she asked him. "I know how he feels."

"What do you mean?"

"I had to have the same talk three times when you were growing up," she told him. "It was heartbreaking every time. Especially since I had no idea how you guys felt."

"You did fine explaining things Ma," Derek told her.

"So how is he?" Dave watched Ryan galloping on the horse.

"I think he's fine now," Derek told them. "By the way, just in case we get another case, he's grounded from all things electronic for the next week."

"What?"

"He said he attacked those boys," Penelope told them. "Like it or not, he still needs to be punished."

"All right," Fran sighed.

"Dad, watch this!" Ryan called and they all turned back and watched as Ryan and his horse jumped over a low beam without the instructor's help.

"Great job buddy!" Derek called as he heard Penelope's phone give off a ring tone that alerted them that she was receiving an incoming text message. "Do we have a case?"

"Yes, but you guys don't have to go in yet." she told them. "I guess Hotch needs to talk to me about it first."

"Why?"

"I have no idea," she looked at them. "Keys? We rode here together."

"Here," Derek handed them to her. "I'll just catch a ride with Dave."

Ryan stopped his horse so that Penelope could give him a hug and tell him good-bye. He resumed his lesson as Penelope pulled away from the stables.

* * *

Penelope stepped off the elevator and rushed up the stairs to Hotch's office. She knocked softly on the door and walked in once he granted her access.

"How's Ryan?" Hotch asked.

"There's going to be a lot of talks," she sat down in one of the chairs before his desk. "So why did I have to come in before the others?"

"We have a case and I'm going to need you to come along," he told her. "All of the victims are teenagers who kept themselves busy with social media. We'll need your skills."

"Ok," she took the file. "And that's the reason why I had to come early?"

"The case is in San Francisco," Hotch revealed.

"What?" she abruptly lept up from her seat. "No way! Absolutely not! I've told you millions of times that I will never go back there!"

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think of that Cliffhanger? I figured that I needed a situation that deal with this issue since Ryan is white and is living in a bi-racial environment. If I have offended any of you, I assure you that was not my intent. I hope that you all liked this. PLZ R&R!


	42. Chapter 42: Hometown Woes

**AN:** So this chapter will be your first glimpse of Garcia's past. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 42: Hometown Woes**

"No way! Absolutely not! I've told you millions of times that I will never go back there!"

Hotch watched his technical analyst start to pace his office frantically as she continued to rant. This was why he knew it was a good idea to brief her on the case before the rest of the team. He knew she would not take the news well. The last time that she had been in California was when she had been arrested just before she came back with them as their new team member.

"Garcia-" Hotch tried to interrupt her.

"No!" she glared at him. "You know that I never want to go back there! I've told you-"

"I tried everything to not have you go with us," Hotch tried to reason with her. "It's simply unavoidable."

"Fine!" she stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind her in the process.

"Baby Girl?" she looked up as she saw Derek and Reid stepping off of the elevator together.

"Hey," she grumbled.

"Is everything ok?"

"Not really."

"What's going on? Why did Hotch want to see you?"

"He wanted to warn me-The case is in San Francisco."

"Oh,"

"I'll be in my office," she stormed off.

"Do you want me to try to talk to her?" Reid asked.

"What?" Derek looked at him.

"I'm sure that by now from all her subtle comments about her childhood that you know-"

"She was bullied," Derek sighed.

"And I'm sure that you've probably also figured out that we have that in common," Reid stated.

"Go talk to her. I'll let Hotch know that you won't be at the briefing." Morgan watched Reid walk towards Penelope's office and he went towards the conference room where Hotch was setting up for the briefing.

"It was unavoidable," Hotch looked up at him. "I tried everything-"

"I figured," he told him. "But you know that she won't let this go."

"I know," he sighed as everyone started filing in.

"What's going on?" JJ asked. "Dave just told us that you asked to see Garcia first."

"The case is in San Francisco," Hotch told them. "And Garcia needs to come along this time."

"Oh,"

"Before you ask, I tried everything to avoid her coming along."

"Reid's going to skip the briefing," Derek told them. "He's trying to get her calm. He says he knows what she's going through."

* * *

A little while later, the team filed onto the jet. Reid and Garcia were already there; Reid got up to sit with the rest of the team as Derek sat farther away with Penelope.

"How are you doing?" he asked her as she worked on her laptop.

"I'm working fast so we can get this solved quickly and we can leave as soon as possible."

"At least you can see your family," he told her.

"I was thinking of texting Tim and seeing if I could stay with them while we're in town,"

"I'm sure it'll be fine as long as you keep your phone on in case the team needs to reach you."

"When are any of my phones ever off?" she looked at him.

"Touche," he smiled. "Can I stay with you?"

"Of course," she smiled at him.

Reid started reading through the case files as Hotch was the last to board the jet and sat with them.

"So?" he looked at Reid.

"You are definitely in the dog house sir," Reid looked at him.

"So do you know why-"

"She told me a few things, but I won't betray her confidence."

"I sure hope we solve this case fast," Dave stated as he looked through the file. "So what do we have here?"

Penelope sat working as Derek sat next to her looking through the case file. She stopped typing and took out her phone and started texting her brother Tim.

'I'm on my way to you guys with the team. Can me and Derek stay with you please?'

'Absolutely. We'll get your old room ready for you.'

'The team and especially Derek doesn't know. Please hide everything.'

'I'm on it sis.'

Penelope's computer started beeping and she put her phone away as she started typing again. Everyone's phones went off and they took them out.

"Really?" Hotch looked back at Penelope and Derek and he shrugged his shoulders at his expression. "She won't even talk to me about the case face-to-face?"

"We'll try to talk to her on the way to the precinct," JJ told him as she opened up the file on her phone. "All of the victims were enrolled in the same advanced computer classes. One of their projects was a weekly blog."

"Which is why they were always on social media," Emily added.

"After we set up at the precinct, Reid and JJ go to the ME's. Dave and Emily go to the latest crime scene to see if you can find anything that the local authorities missed."

"And you?" Dave looked at him. "Going to try to get in Garcia's good graces again?"

"I'm going to try. Hopefully Morgan will want to help me."

A little while later, they landed and JJ and Emily guided Penelope to one of the awaiting SUVs and Morgan followed the guys to the other one.

"So?"

"I don't think it's you." Derek looked at Hotch. "It's just being here in the state of California. She swore that she would never return here after her arrest. This is where her parents died and where her brothers turned their backs on her. And whatever happened to her in high school."

"Which she will never tell us," Dave looked at Reid. "Can you tell us anything kid?"

"Sorry, I promised her that I wouldn't say anything. It's not like she told me much anyway. She was very careful about what she told me."

"So you know nothing at all?"

"I found out one thing," Reid told them. "When we get to the police station and the sheriff hears the name Garcia, he's going to give us a hard time."

"Why is that?" Derek asked.

"Back when he was a deputy, he was the one that always brought Mitchell home whenever he got into trouble."

"Oh man," Derek sighed.

"Why is that important?" Hotch asked. "Penelope didn't get into trouble until we arrested her right?"

"She said she rebelled when she was finally told the truth about her real father. I don't think it involved getting arrested though." Derek explained. "But because of Mitchell's involvement with local law enforcement, the family were all considered outcasts. She said that the neighbors looked down on them. So the sheriff will do the same when we get to the precinct."

"I'll make sure he understands," Hotch stated. "Hopefully, the girls are able to calm her down before we arrive."

In the other SUV, the tension was thick. No one had said anything for several long minutes; Penelope hadn't spoken since they pulled away from the landing strip.

"Come on PG," JJ looked at her. "You have to talk to us."

"Yeah," Emily added. "We know coming back here is hard for you-"

"You have no idea," Penelope finally mumbled.

"What is going on?"

"The sheriff will recognize my name when Hotch introduces us, and from that point on he will make it very hard on me..."

Penelope spent the remaining time on the way to the precinct explaining to them about her family's history with the local law enforcement. She felt a little better getting it all off her chest, but when she saw them pull up to the police station she tensed up again.

"It'll be ok," Emily assured her. "We're all here for you."

"Thank you," she whispered as her door opened and Derek was smiling at her.

"I got you, Baby Girl." he helped her with her bags and equipment. "Reid told us about the sheriff."

"Yeah," she said softly.

"Hotch has it covered. He told me to tell you something."

"What-" she smiled as he whispered something and she started swiping away on her phone.

Hotch led the group into the station with Derek and Penelope bringing up the rear. Several deputies looked up from their desks as a door to a back office opened and an older, gray-haired man came out to greet them.

"I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner," he shook his hand. "These are SSA's Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, Derek Morgan, Dr. Spencer Reid and our technical analyst Penelope Garcia."

"Garcia?" the sheriff whipped his head in her direction.

"We have been informed of your history with our analyst and her family. But she should not be punished simply because you have a prejudice against her family."

"You'd be best to steer clear of that family-"

"Now Garcia," Hotch ordered and she took out her phone and swiped it a few times.

"What was that?" the sheriff questioned.

"You'll find out soon enough," Derek smirked at him.

Suddenly there was a flurry of activity as several officers and deputies punched buttons on their desktop computers.

"Sir, the system just crashed!"

"How did she-" the sheriff sputtered.

"I'll bet you didn't know that the anti-virus and malware software that you use for your system here was developed by our analyst."

"You can't-"

"You invited us in, which means that you desperately need our help in solving this case." Hotch stated. "So here's what's going to happen: You will direct us to a private room to set up, you and your officers and anyone else associated with this office will leave my team-all of my team-to do what we came here to do. The room where we set up in will be off-limits to everyone here. If we need something from any of you, we will come find you. Agree to these terms, and TA Garcia will fix your system before all your files are compromised."

"Fine," the sheriff resigned.

"Ok Garcia, go ahead."

"Just a little bit longer?"

"Garcia," Hotch gave her a warning tone.

"Fine," she swiped her phone again and the computers were restored. "Now where can we set up?"

"Right through there," he pointed behind them.

"Thank you," Hotch gave him a pointed look as they all filed into the room.

Derek and Hotch stayed behind with Garcia as the others went off to the ME's office and the last crime scene. Penelope sat before her computers to start the background checks on the computer science teachers at the high school where all the victims attended.

"Garcia?" Hotch stepped back into the room. "There is someone out here who wants to see you. He's the deputy sheriff."

"Why does the deputy sheriff want to see me?" she looked up at him.

"We told everyone to not come near this room." Derek stated.

"He assured me that you will grant him access once I say the following: Runt, Half-Pint, Short Stack-"

"Oh my god," Penelope leapt up from her seat and threw the door open to reveal a young guy smiling at her.

"Hey Runt," he greeted her.

"Mickey..." she hugged him tightly.

* * *

 **AN:** Another cliffhanger! How I love to keep you all hanging! LOL! This will be the first of several chapters dealing with Penelope's childhood. A lot of things will be revealed as Garcia tries her hardest to keep it concealed from the team, and especially Derek. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter.


	43. Chapter 43: Hometown Secrecy

**AN:** So I'm posting this at work since it's completely dead and I have nothing work-related to do. I hope you like this update. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 43: Hometown Secrecy**

Derek watched as Penelope embraced the man standing in the doorway of the room where they were stationed. They finally pulled apart as he and Hotch just looked at them.

"Sorry," Penelope turned to Derek. "This is Miguel Vargas; everyone calls him Mickey. His brother Enrique-or Ricky-was, still is actually, friends with my brother Joe."

"Nice to meet you," Hotch shook his hand.

"You too," Mickey smiled at him before turning to Derek.

"Did you two..." Derek looked between them.

"We technically dated, if you want to call it that."

"What do you mean?"

"My prom date canceled on me just two days before," Penelope explained to them. "Rather than having to watch me wallow in self-pity, my brothers started calling around to see if they could find anyone who wouldn't mind taking me. Mickey here was in town after finishing his first year of college."

"We would always hang out whenever our brothers did," Mickey told him. "I figured that hanging out with Penelope for several hours was better than a boring night at home with my parents. And after the dance, we kind of helped each other out."

"Helped each other how?" Derek looked at them.

"We had what was called a smoke screen relationship," Penelope told him. "We pretended to be involved for our own selfish reasons. He helped me stick it to my protective brothers and I helped him keep a secret that he wasn't ready to share with his family."

"So you guys faked a relationship?" Hotch spoke up.

"For almost a year and a half," Mickey smirked at him. "They eventually figured it out, but it was fun trying to pull it over on all of them."

"If you don't mind me asking, what was the secret you were trying to keep from everyone?" Derek asked.

"You don't have to tell them," Penelope told him. "But they definitely won't judge you."

"I told my family a long time ago," Mickey told her. "They took it well. And the entire police force knows by now."

"How are they taking it?"

"Most are accepting, but you know the sheriff. His whole family consists of racist homophobes."

"Wait, you're-" Derek looked between them.

"I'm gay," Mickey confirmed. "I knew in high school. I just wasn't ready to announce it. Penelope helped me keep my secret."

"That's how she is," Derek kissed her cheek. "Protective of everyone."

"Since you seem to be more welcoming of us than the sheriff, do you mind working with us directly?" Hotch looked at him.

"Sure thing," Mickey nodded. "I was the one that convinced the sheriff that we needed outside help with this case. I just didn't know that Half-Pint here was on your team. If I had known-"

"It's ok," Penelope told him.

Derek saw a look pass between the two old friends before Mickey nodded and Penelope turned back to her equipment. In that moment Derek knew that his plans to get Mickey alone and ask him about Penelope's past were dashed. Mickey may know what she went through when she was younger, but he was still her friend. There was no way that he would betray her though. Which meant that Derek may never know what she's trying so hard to keep hidden from all of them.

* * *

The rest of the team returned to the precinct and started into the room where Hotch, Morgan and Garcia were set up. They stopped when they spotted a uniformed officer with them.

"Uh, Hotch?" JJ looked at him.

"He's on our side," he assured them as he led them out. "He's the deputy sheriff, but he knows Garcia. His brother is friends with her brother Joe. He's the one who convinced the sheriff to call us in. He just didn't know that Penelope was working with us since they haven't talked in years."

"We need to get more information from her," Emily stated.

"It's a very interesting one," Hotch smirked. "So what did you guys find out from the crime scene?"

"Not much," Dave said. "Except that it's a wide open space. Tourists mostly go there to see the botanical gardens."

"But the bodies were found right out in the open which means the unsub wanted them found fast." Emily added.

"That could suggest remorse." Hotch turned to JJ and Reid. "Did you two find out anything at the ME's office?"

"They were all blitz attacked and then strangled," JJ told him.

"But they all had an interesting symbol carved into their skin just below their ribs," Reid showed them the piece of scrap paper he had scribbled on. "I tried to sketch it on our way back here."

"It appears to be some kind of monitor-maybe a TV-with another symbol over top of it," JJ told them.

"I'll have Garcia run a search on it," Hotch told them. "But let's all head to the hotel for the night and start fresh tomorrow."

Hotch went to go tell Morgan and Garcia and they started packing up all their things. They met everyone outside as Penelope was talking on her phone.

"Penelope made plans to stay at her brother Tim's house," Derek told them. "I'm going with her."

"She's not still mad is she?" JJ asked.

"No, she just wants to be with her family. Tim lives in the house where she grew up. Besides it's only a couple of blocks from here, closer than the hotel is."

"It's fine with me," Hotch handed the keys to one of the SUVs to Derek. "Just keep your phones on in case there's a break in the case."

"Got it," Derek led Penelope to one of the SUVs as she hung up the phone.

"It'll be interesting to see where you lived growing up," he looked at her as he pulled away from the precinct.

"Don't you go getting any ideas," she told him.

"What do you mean?"

"I already told Tim to hide all the pictures of me from when I was younger. So don't you go looking for them."

"I'll be good," he smiled at her as she pointed out a house to him and he pulled into the driveway. "Whoa. You grew up here?"

"Yep," she smiled at her old house.

It was a big white Victorian three-story house that led right out onto the beach. Derek started to gather their things as he saw some woods set off behind the house.

"We had four-wheelers and dirt bikes and mini bikes when we were younger," Penelope told him. "Along with paintball and BB guns. There was a lot of competition between us all growing up."

"But she could hold her own against all us boys," the door opened and Tim greeted them. "Don't let that Princess exterior fool you."

"Aunt Pen!" Jazzlynn ran out to them and embraced her aunt.

"Hey Jazzy," she smiled down at the nine-year-old. "Where's your sister?"

"In her room," she told her. "She refuses to come out unless Dad starts being more reasonable."

"Sky is sulking," Tim told them. "And apparently I just don't get it."

"Of course you don't, you're her parent." Derek told him.

"You're here," Shelley came out to them and embraced Penelope tightly. "We're in the middle of some remodeling so don't mind the mess."

"I totally understand," Derek told them. "I renovate houses."

"But your old room is ready for you guys." Tim added.

"Great," Penelope started towards the winding staircase. "Come on, Handsome. I'll take you on a tour."

"Right behind you, Princess." he started up the carpeted stairs behind her.

Penelope led him down the hall as she pointed out a few rooms and told him what they were used for the last time she was there.

"And this was my room," She opened a door at the end of the hall and led him inside.

"Away from everyone else's rooms," he pointed out.

"My dad always said it was because I was a girl and needed more privacy."

"Ah, a picture." Derek picked up a frame off the dresser. "Not to worry. I don't think this one is embarrassing. It looks like a group photo."

"Let me see," she took it from him. "I think that was just after me and mom moved in here. I was still going through rehab after what Kenneth did."

"Yeah, I see the braces." Derek put the photo back. "This is a nice house."

"It's a family home," she told him as they started to get settled. "It's been in my dad's family for years."

"Hi Aunt Pen," they looked and saw Tanner standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" she embraced her nephew.

"We're all here now," he told her. "We're having dinner out on the patio."

"You're all-Tim invited everyone?"

"Are you that surprised?" Derek asked her. "It's a very big deal to them that you're out here for the first time since your parents' funeral."

"I guess,"

"Where's Ryan?" Tanner looked around.

"We're out here on a case for work," Penelope told him. "We couldn't bring him with us."

"We should probably check up on him," Derek took out his phone and brought up his video chat icon.

"Dad?" Ryan appeared on the phone. "Nana said I could answer it when she saw you calling."

"It's all right buddy,"Derek assured him. "We just wanted to check in."

"Where are you?"

"San Francisco,"

"Is mom ok?"

"I'm fine sweetie," Penelope took over the phone. "We're taking a break from the case for the night and guess where we're staying?"

"Where?"

"Uncle Tim's," she moved the phone so he could see Tanner.

"Hi Ryan," Tanner smiled at him.

"Hey,"

"When this case is over, we're going to see about staying a couple extra days and try to bring you out here so we can show you all the sights," Derek took the phone back.

"Yeah!"

They continued to talk to Ryan for a little bit longer before Fran came on. Penelope said her good byes and handed the phone off to Derek as she heard one of her brothers calling for her. Tanner followed her out of the room as Derek turned back to his mom on his phone.

"So how is she really?" Fran asked her son. "Dave told me that she didn't talk to anyone on the way there."

"She's fine now," he assured her. "She ran into one of her old friends at the precinct, but she wants to solve this case fast."

"I'll bet,"

"Do you know-"

"She's never gone into details about that part of her life."

"She talked to Reid before we boarded the jet, but he said he couldn't tell us."

"Just hang in there and trust that she'll let you in eventually."

"Uncle Derek!"

"I got to go," Derek told his mom. "I'll call tomorrow to check in with you."

"Don't worry about a thing. Just solve that case so you can get back here fast."

"Will do," he ended the video call and started downstairs.

Derek made his way back downstairs and found everyone filing out a set of glass double doors that led out onto an enclosed patio. He spotted all of Penelope's brothers with their families as they all helped set everything out on the long rectangle table. He scanned the area for Penelope and saw her off towards where another set of double doors led down to the huge backyard. She was conversing quietly with Skylar who seemed to have a scowl permanently plastered on her face.

"Dad says she's just being a teenager," Derek looked and saw Hannah, Michael and Sarah's daughter, standing next to him.

"What?" he looked at the ten-year-old.

"Sky," she gestured to the pair still talking. "I overheard her arguing with Uncle Tim. This college guy asked her out."

"What?"

"Freshman in college, but he's still three years older than her. When Uncle Tim said no, Sky got really upset. Uncle Tim just told her that he knows what it's like to watch someone you love get hurt and have to pick up the pieces."

"It's ready!" Shelley announced and everyone came over to find their seats at the table.

"This looks amazing," Penelope commented as Derek pulled a chair out for her and pushed her in close to the table. "What's that look, Handsome?"

"Nothing," he smiled at her. "But once we tell the team about this wonderful meal we're having-"

"Let them be jealous," she told him. "Do you know how often I got jealous of all of you going out to those fancy restaurants during a case while I was stuck in Virginia eating from the work cafeteria? And trust me, that food is never appealing."

"Well I hope this make up for it." he told her.

"Maybe a little," she smiled at him as she got drawn into a conversation that her brothers were having.

Derek kept a close eye on Penelope all throughout dinner as he listened to her nieces and nephews tell him all about their schools and what activities they were involved in.

As the kids moved inside to watch TV or play video games after supper, all the adults stayed out on the patio reminiscing. As all of her brothers took turns telling stories about their childhood, Derek couldn't stop thinking about his conversation with Hannah earlier. Could Tim have been referring to Penelope when he was arguing with his daughter?

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!

 _On a side note, if anyone wouldn't mind PMing me and helping me brainstorm with this story I'd really like this. I would post some questions here, but I don't want to ruin it for the people who don't like spoilers. If anyone would like to help me brainstorm, please PM me. Thanks!_


	44. Chapter 44: A Little Reveal

**AN:** So I'm sorry that it's been a couple weeks at least since I posted anything. I have been having a lot of trouble with the word processing software that I use for my writing. A few days ago, I tried to open this story up from my flash drive and EVERYTHING was gone. So I spent the last few days copying and pasting it from this site. But I transferred all my stories to Google Drive and so far I have had no issues. So hopefully this issue is resolved. To make up for not posting, here's a sort of lengthy chapter for you guys. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 44: A Little Reveal**

Penelope slowly awoke as she heard an annoying ringing sound in the distance. There was movement next to her and the warmth that she was snuggled up against left her as she heard a soft voice near her.

"Yeah Hotch? When? Same as before? All right, we'll be there soon."

Penelope opened her eyes as she slowly sat up and saw Derek hanging up his phone. He looked over at her and sighed.

"We have to go in?"

"Yeah. There's another body."

She nodded as she started to climb out of bed and started to get ready. They took turns using the bathroom, showering and getting dressed. They left a note for Tim and his family and walked out to the SUV and made their way to the precinct.

They walked into the station and saw the somber atmosphere as they went right for their private room. Penelope set up her equipment as Derek went to see if any of the team were there yet.

"Coffee," Derek brought her in a mug. "It's not that great, but we don't have any other options right now."

"It's better than nothing," she accepted it from him. "Are the others here yet?"

"No-"

"We're here," Hotch walked through the door with Emily and JJ. "Dave and Reid went to the crime scene."

"How was your night with your family?" JJ looked at Penelope.

"Fun," she smiled at them. "They want you all to come over for a barbecue when the case is over. Mitchell and his family will be flying in a few days from now."

"Sounds like fun," they all smiled as Dave and Reid walked in.

"Find out anything?" Hotch asked them.

"Nothing new," Dave sighed. "Same as the others."

"The same symbol was carved into the victim," Reid added. "Same place as the others, just below the ribs."

"I managed to get a picture." Dave showed them the photo on his phone. "I sent it to your phone, Kitten."

"Got it," she opened the file. "I'll scan it into the system and see if it gets any hits."

* * *

By late afternoon, they were all getting antsy trying to find a break in the case. Garcia was still running her searches as everyone else was out sitting around Mickey's desk going over the case files yet again.

"So you went to Tim's last night?" Mickey looked over at Derek. "Did you go snooping for old photos of Penny?"

"No, she told Tim to hide everything." Derek told him. "But the whole clan was over, and Shelley made this amazing dinner."

"You two had a home cooked meal and we just had hotel food?" JJ joined in on their conversation. "I am so jealous."

"Make sure you tell Pen that," Derek told her. "She said it's only fair that she gets a fancy meal after all the times we ate at fancy restaurants while we were away on cases without her."

"I suppose," JJ smiled as Derek's phone went off. "New information?"

"Not about the case," he told her. "It's an email from Ryan's school."

"What's happened?"

"The kids had eye exams today," he told them. "He didn't fail the test, but he didn't pass it. The nurse says that he's borderline and that we should schedule an exam for him."

"The kid is not going to like that," Rossi commented.

"Don't I know it," Derek sighed.

"Who's Ryan?" Mickey spoke up.

"My son-or almost son-I'm in the process of adopting him."

"Good for you," Mickey smiled at him. "So Penny?"

"Is an awesome mother for him."

"Uh, Derek?" Emily looked at him. "There's a little girl behind you who I believe is trying to get your attention."

"What-" he turned around and smiled. "Jazzy?"

"Hi Uncle Derek," the little girl smiled as she approached the big group.

"Everyone this is Jazzlynn Garcia," Derek told them. "Tim's youngest daughter."

"Everyone just calls me Jazzy," the little girl smiled at them.

"Hey Jazzy," Mickey smiled at her. "It's been so long since I've seen you."

"Hi Uncle Mickey,"

"How'd you get here?" Derek asked Jazzy.

"Sky brought me," she told him.

"Your sister's here too?"

"She's in talking with Aunt Pen."

"Do your parents know that you're here?"

"My guess is no," Hotch spoke up.

"I am going to call your dad," Derek took out his phone and dialed. "Hey Tim, it's Derek. Quick question: Would you happen to be missing your daughters? Yeah, they're down here at the station. Jazzy said that Skylar brought her. All right. I'll see you in a few."

"Would you like a snack Jazzy?" Mickey offered her some crackers. "And we have juice too."

"Ok," she sat in the chair that Derek had just vacated.

No more than five minutes later, there was a flurry of activity and Derek saw Tim and Shelley rush into the precinct. The team stood up as a deputy approached the couple.

"Do you need some assistance?" the deputy asked them.

"Not from you," Tim spat out as he saw Derek approach him. "Hey, thanks for calling."

"Mommy," Jazzy ran to her.

"Hey sweetie," Shelley scooped up her daughter.

"I met Aunt Pen's friends,"

"Where's our other one?" Tim looked at Derek.

"Over here," Derek led him to the closed door.

"Thank you for keeping an eye on her," Shelley faced the group. "I can't believe that Sky brought her little sister down here."

"It was no trouble at all," Hotch assured her. "I take it that Skylar is a teenager and starting to rebel a bit?"

"Try a lot," Shelley sighed. "She thinks we're being totally unfair because we won't let her date a freshman in college."

"Skylar Garcia," Penelope looked at the door as it opened and saw her brother coming into the room with Derek.

"You called him?" Skylar looked at her aunt from across the room where she was scowling with her arms crossed.

"Did you see me pick up my phone?" Penelope looked back at her. "I've been in here working on my computers the entire time that you've been here."

"I called him," Derek stated. "When I found Jazzy wandering the precinct."

"You brought your little sister?" Penelope glanced at her niece. "What were you thinking bringing her here?"

"She wasn't," Tim stated. "Car, now."

"Fine," Skylar grumbled as she stomped out of the room and Tim turned to his sister.

"Sorry about them bothering you guys at work,"

"It's not a problem," Penelope smiled at him.

"We weren't that busy anyway," Derek told him. "We have no leads on this case."

Penelope's computer started beeping and she turned back to it as the symbol flashed on the screen.

"No hits," she sighed as she looked at Derek.

"Why are you looking that creepy symbol up?" Tim asked.

"You recognize it?" she looked at her brother.

"Don't you?"

"Should I?"

"It was the symbol for that weird computer club you were in Senior year."

"Oh my god," Penelope's hands started flying across the keyboard.

"I think you better go," Derek pushed Tim out of the room. "But I think you just helped us with the case, so thank you."

"See you guys tonight?"

"Hopefully," Derek told him as he joined Shelley and his daughters.

"What's going on?" Hotch came up to Derek as Tim and his family left the station.

"Tim just helped us get a break with the case," Derek told them.

"What do you mean?"

"In here," Derek led them all in.

"I knew I recognized that symbol," Penelope grumbled. "I just couldn't put my finger on it."

"So what's it from?" JJ asked.

"There was a computer club started my senior year," Penelope told them. "The TA at the time started it. Back then, it was just an excuse for us to blow off study hall. We would mostly just play computer games or develop our coding skills."

"What was the name of the club?" Reid asked

"Technology Brigade," Penelope told them. "I know, we were dorks."

"Can you bring up a group photo of the current members?"

"Hold on, I'm accessing the school website." Penelope continued to type and brought up the school website. "Here it is. The computer science department. And the TA that I remember is now a full-time teacher."

"Marcus Wallischeck," Reid read over her shoulder. "He has a colorful past."

"I had no idea about any of this," Penelope stated.

"I spot four of our victims in that picture," Emily said.

"It looks like Mr. Wallischeck was passed up for tenure the last several years," Rossi read out loud. "That's got to be his stressor. If he's been teaching this whole time, he may feel like he's stuck teaching a bunch of teenagers with nothing to show for it."

"Let's bring Mr. Wallischeck in," Hotch told them. "Garcia, keep searching for anything that you can find on him."

"Got it,"

"I'm staying," Derek told them. "You guys can handle it right?"

"Absolutely,"

"I don't need a babysitter," she told him as the team filed out.

"It gives us an opportunity to check in with Ryan," he took out his phone and showed her the email he got from the school. "I figure you might be the best at talking to him about it."

"You got it," she smiled at him as he dialed his mom's number.

* * *

Derek smiled as he sat next to Penelope as she continued to talk to Ryan. He took the printed sheets detailing Marcus Wallischeck's life as the door to the precinct opened and Hotch and Rossi led a middle-aged man into the building.

"...and I'm glad I did it," the man rambled. "All that time spent teaching all those sniveling teenagers…."

"Sir, I need to remind you that you have the right to remain silent." Hotch told him.

"I suggest that you use it," Rossi added.

"He admitted everything?" Derek asked as Hotch led him into an interrogation room and rejoined them.

"And then some," Rossi told him. "When we told him that one of his former students worked for us-"

"And who that student was-he said it would only be a matter of minutes before we found out everything." Hotch added.

"According to him, Kitten was the best student he ever had. He was impressed with how well she picked up all the coding. He said that in all his years teaching, that no one ever came close."

"She is the best," Derek handed over all the information that she had found. "It's a long list of different crimes-all against teenagers."

"Where's Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"Talking to Ryan still," Derek told him. "I figure that she would be the best one to calm him down about him possibly getting glasses."

"Good thinking," Dave nodded.

"Where's everyone else?" Derek asked them.

"Recovering the bodies that we didn't know about," Hotch said. "He confessed it all on the ride over here."

"This guys a piece of work,"

"You can tell Garcia that as soon as the other three get back, she can pack up her things and head for her brother's house. I don't want her around this place anymore than she has to be."

"Good," Derek sighed as he went back into where Penelope was as she continued to talk on her phone.

"I'm really fine," Penelope smiled at him. "You don't have to worry, Fran."

"Ma," Derek took the phone from her. "It looks like we're going to be wrapping up the case. Do you think you can get Ryan out here for some sight seeing by tomorrow?"

"Absolutely, Baby Boy." Fran told him. "I will start packing up our bags as soon as I hang up with you."

"We'll see you then," Derek hung up with his mom.

"So Mr. Wallischeck is the unsub?" Penelope looked at him.

"He confessed on the way over here. When he found out that you were working this case with us, he knew that you would be able to find out everything there was to know about him. He said you were the best student that he's ever taught in all his years of teaching."

"So one of my mentors is a psychopath," she stated. "That's just great."

"Who you were taught by has nothing to do with who you are now," he told her.

"I know-"

"And just because you were arrested all those years ago doesn't mean a thing just because he was just arrested."

"Ok, i get it." she smiled at him. "So how much longer do you think we'll be here?"

"Hotch said that you can go ahead and pack up to go if you like. He doesn't want to keep you here any longer than you have to be."

"I will text Tim and let him know," she took out her phone.

* * *

A little while later, JJ, Emily and Reid arrived back at the station. They ignored the sheriff who was waiting on word from them and went to find Rossi who was coming out of the interrogation room.

"So what'd you find?" Rossi asked them.

"Garcia helped us ID all the victims from the missing persons reports that she was able to find online," Reid told him. "So after we book this guy, we can head back to the hotel and head back home."

"Morgan and Garcia and I will be staying a few extra days. Penelope and her family want to show us the sights. Kind of a pre-vacation before Winter break."

"Sounds like fun,"

"Hey," Morgan came out to them. "Garcia's getting all the contact information for all the latest victims' families."

"We actually need you to stay a little longer," Rossi looked at him. "The unsub requested a face-to-face with Garcia, but Hotch refused. Want to take her place?"

"Absolutely," he stated. "But I was going to drive her over to her brother's house since Hotch wants to get her out of here."

"I can take her if you want me to," Reid looked at him. "I have everything done until I have to do the reports when we get back home."

"It's alright with me if Pen doesn't mind."

"If I don't mind what?" they saw Penelope coming out to them with all of her equipment.

"Change of plans," Derek told her. "I actually have to stay a little longer."

"But I'll go with you to your brother's house," Reid spoke up. "If that's ok."

"Absolutely," she smiled. "How long do you guys think you'll be? Tim's going to fire up the grill soon."

"Give us about an hour," Dave told her.

"I'm ready if you are, Boy Wonder." Penelope smiled at Reid.

"Lead the way," Reid followed her out of the station.

"I'm glad this case is over," Derek sighed. "Or almost over. Now if only I can get her to open up to me about some things."

"She will eventually," Dave assured him. "Just give her some time."

"Well let's get this over with so that I can get back to my Baby Girl," Derek sighed as he followed Rossi to the interrogation room where Hotch was waiting for them.

* * *

Reid helped Penelope load up all her equipment into the back of the SUV as he thought about how he would say what he wanted to say to her.

"Thank you for keeping my secret," she turned to him.

"It's not my business to share," he told her. "But…"

"What?" she looked at him.

"You need to let Morgan in sometime," he stated. "Especially if you want any kind of future with him."

"I know," she sighed as she put her last bag into the SUV. "And I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I'm going to tell him."

"When?"

"After we get back home. I just want us to enjoy the next couple of days with my family before I tell him."

"Understood," Reid nodded as he started to take the keys from her. "Let me drive."

"Go ahead," she smiled as she opened the passenger side door.

"What?" She heard Reid's voice and looked over to see him falling to the ground.

"Reid?" she rushed over to the driver's side and saw him sprawled out on the pavement. "Oh my god. Wake up-"

"Hello Penelope," she heard an eerily familiar voice behind her and turned.

"You!" she gasped as a hand covered her mouth before she had a chance to scream.

* * *

 **AN:** Cliffhanger! Who do you think took Penelope? Will Reid be ok? Find out in the next chapter. Hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!

 _Now that I stopped babysitting so regularly since summer started, I should hopefully have more time to write. But I will most likely start getting more hours at my regular job and I just started some school courses as well. But hopefully I can keep myself on a schedule for now. Until next time! Happy reading!_


	45. Chapter 45: Discoveries

**AN:** Here's another update for all of you. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 45: Discoveries**

Derek walked out of the interrogation room followed by Hotch and Rossi as they spotted the team loading up all their stuff.

"How'd it go?" Emily looked at them.

"The guy is a piece of work," Derek sighed. "I'm glad that we didn't let Baby Girl go in there."

"So should we head out?" Rossi asked.

"Absolutely," JJ said as they all headed outside with everything as Derek's phone went off.

"Hey Tim, tell Baby Girl that the rest of us are on the way to your place...What are you talking about? She left almost a half hour ago with Reid. She should've been there long before now."

"What's going on?" Hotch asked.

"Penelope and Reid haven't gotten to her brother's house yet."

"Uh guys," JJ looked at them. "Both SUVs are still here."

"Oh my god," Emily gasped when she got to the side of one of the vehicles and crouched down on the pavement. "Reid, wake up."

They all rushed over and saw Reid sprawled out on the pavement and not moving. Hotch took out his phone and called for an ambulance as Derek and Rossi got to Reid.

"Tim, you and your brothers better get down here," Derek spoke into his phone before hanging it up.

"What happened here?" JJ knelt beside Reid and started to shake him.

"And where's Baby Girl?" Derek asked.

"All of her equipment is in the back and still in tact," Dave started to search the vehicle.

"Derek, I found Garcia's purse." Emily called and he rushed over and started searching through it.

"Everything seems in place," he told them. "The only things that are missing are her phones."

"Try calling her, see if anyone answers." Hotch told him and Derek dialed her number.

"Nothing, it just goes straight to voicemail." Derek sighed. "She never has her phone off."

"Which means that she was conscious long enough to turn her phone off," Dave told them. "Or whoever took her did it."

"You have to unlock the phone just to turn it off," Derek told them. "She did it herself because the unlocking sequence is very complicated."

"Come on Spence," JJ stayed kneeling by Reid. "Open your eyes."

"The ambulance is here," Hotch pointed as they pulled up to them.

"Her brothers should be here in a minute," Derek told them as Dave started to make some calls.

"What the hell is going on out here?" they turned to see the sheriff followed by the rest of the police force.

"One of our agents was attacked while another one was abducted," Hotch turned to face them. "So we'll be your guests for a little while longer until we get to the bottom of this."

"Who was taken?" Mickey stepped forward.

"I think you already know the answer to that," Derek looked at him. "I know you've been keeping a secret for her-"

"Penny was taken?"

"And Agent Reid was attacked," Emily stated. "So we need to know what happened to Penelope while she lived here and figure out if it has anything to do with why she was taken."

"So start talking," Derek glared at him.

"I will," Mickey started. "You need to get her brothers down here first though."

"They're already on their way,"

"Mitchell and his family should be here in a couple hours," Dave hung up his phone. "Along with the rest of our clan. You need your family right now."

"Thanks," Derek told him sincerely. "I just want to know what happened."

"We'll find her," Hotch told him. "Whoever took her has a half hour head start, so we need to work fast to find her."

"Derek!" he looked up as they all heard screeching tires and saw Tim, Michael and Joe Garcia rushing towards them.

"What happened?" Joe asked them.

"Your sister has been abducted," Hotch told them. "And whoever did it, attacked Agent Reid. He hasn't regained consciousness yet."

"We'll help," Michael said.

"The only way we want you to help is by telling us what happened to her while she lived here," Hotch told them. "Whatever it was may be the reason why this happened."

"We'll need to go into the station," Tim said as he took out his phone. "And since I know that only Mickey is the only one on the force who would be willing to help us, I'm going to call in some reinforcements."

"Reinforcements?"

"You'll see."

"JJ is riding with Reid," Hotch came back over to them after the ambulance sped away. "She'll keep us updated. Let's head back inside."

* * *

Fran had just gotten Ryan to sleep when she got the call from Dave. She could barely focus as she thought about what not only Penelope was going through at that moment, but her son as well. He knew he would beat himself up about not being there with her. She decided to start on the packing, saving the task of getting Ryan ready to leave for last.

There was a soft knock on the door and she went to open it, seeing Penelope's brother Mitchell standing before her.

"Do you know anything more?" he asked her.

"I know as much as you do," she responded.

"Will just pulled in behind me so I'll get your guys' bags while you get Ryan."

"On it," she started up the stairs and into Ryan's bedroom.

Clooney immediately sprung up as she turned on the light, but Ryan remained asleep. She gently and carefully picked up Ryan in her arms and started downstairs with him as Clooney followed. She grabbed Ryan's book bag on the way out before shutting off all the lights and locking up behind her. Will helped her get Ryan settled in the back seat of his car next to the other two sleeping boys and they set off for the airport.

"Is it a good idea to bring the pooch?" Will asked her.

"He wouldn't let me leave without him," Fran told him. "Besides, he always manages to keep Ryan calm."

They pulled up to the air strip where Dave's personal jet was gassed up and waiting for them to board. They all unloaded and got the kids settled on the two small couches as the pilot came out to them.

"Once you're all settled, we'll be good to take off," he told them. "It'll take us about a half hour to get to Chicago to pick up your daughters. Once they're all settled, it'll take us another hour to fly to San Francisco."

"Thank you," Fran told him as they all settled in and prepared for take off.

* * *

Hotch ordered the team to get set up at the precinct again, much to the chagrin of the sheriff and the rest of the deputies; excluding Mickey, who was trying to track down some files for them. There was a sudden flurry of activity and they all looked towards the door as a tall guy in a suit walked in followed by two other well-dressed people.

"Reinforcements are here," Tim commented.

"Who-" Derek started.

"Senator," the sheriff approached him.

"You are excused from your post," the well-dressed man said.

"Who is he?" Derek looked at Joe.

"Horatio Garcia," he told him. "Our dad's brother, our uncle."

"And senator for the state of California." Michael added.

"I need everyone who doesn't have the last name of Garcia or who isn't a member of the BAU out of Quantico to leave the premises. Except for you Mickey."

"Now see here-" the sheriff started.

"Leave," the senator stated again. "You have not been very helpful to these agents since they arrived and you found out that my niece was a part of their team."

"The whole family are bad seeds,"

"You're still mad because Penelope accused your nephew of those vile acts back when she was in high school."

"He had just started college, he was on his way to being somebody. Those accusations messed him up."

"Just because they were never proven doesn't mean that they weren't true. And if I find out that he has anything to do with my niece's disappearance, I will not only have your job but I will also make sure that the judge throws the book at your nephew. Now all of you leave!"

"I can help you guys," a petite woman, who they recognized as one of the secretary's for the sheriff, approached them. "My name is Shannon and I knew Penelope in high school. We were the best of friends."

"If that's true, why didn't you try to talk to her the entire time that we've been here?" Derek asked her.

"You guys were keeping her pretty well-guarded,"

"That didn't stop Mickey,"

"You need to leave right now Bitch," they all looked and saw the rest of Penelope's family filing into the station.

"Obviously some tension here," Rossi commented.

"I would say so," Emily added.

"This thing in front of me only pretended to be Penelope's friend," Tim told them.

"We dated all through high school," Shelley told them. "She tried to come between us and tried to get Tim for herself."

"Tried being the key word," Tim told them.

"You, out." Derek stated.

"Have someone tail her," Horatio told one of his associates as Shannon left in a huff. "She may be involved in this."

"Ok, so we have a vague understanding of what happened to Penelope in high school," Hotch started. "Would you all like to fill in the blanks?"

"You haven't told them yet?" Horatio demanded from his nephews.

"We wanted to wait until everyone was together before-"

"Sarah and Desiree were just picked up in Chicago and the jet is on its way again. I'll conference into the plane." Dave went to one of the computers.

"I'll dial in JJ," Emily went to the other one.

* * *

Fran was still trying to keep her daughter calm; Sarah said that her sister had been hysterical since they got the call from Dave telling them what happened to Penelope and Spencer. She became even more distraught when they received a text from JJ telling them that all of his tests came back normal, but he hadn't regained consciousness yet.

"Spencer will be fine," Fran assured Desiree. "He's strong."

"He probably got hurt trying to protect Penelope," Sarah told her sister. "Because that's how he is. He's protective of the ones he loves."

"I know," Desiree sniffled. "I just want them both to be all right."

"Dave's calling us on the video feed," Mitchell came up to them. "I didn't want to wake the kids, so I set it up in one of the back rooms."

"Let's go," Fran led her daughters into the back room where her husband's somber face greeted them. "Did you find out anything?"

"Nothing yet," he told them. "But Penelope's brothers and uncle have something they need us all to know. And we have to all hear it together."

"All right," they all sat around the computer as they saw two other video feeds pop up on the screen; one of the Garcia family standing in a group, and the other of JJ in a private room at the hospital.

"You're on," they heard Dave. "Tell us what happened to her."

* * *

 **AN:** Cliffhanger! I'm so evil! LOL! What did you all think of this? I hope you liked it. PLZ R&R!


	46. Chapter 46: Penelope's Past

**AN:** So I got this written a lot faster than I thought I would. The long-awaited answer to the question, 'What happened to Penelope?'. I hope you guys like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 46: Penelope's Past**

"I'll start," Tim spoke up. "Since I saw everything first hand back then."

"For the record," Michael cut in. "We urged Penny to tell all of you after we were reunited. She just didn't want you guys looking at her differently."

"She didn't want you to know Derek," Joe looked off-camera and looked back again. "And she especially didn't want JJ to know."

"Why especially me?" JJ asked.

"You'll know by the end of this story,"

"Just please get on with it," they heard Derek's voice. "The faster you tell us the faster we'll be able to track down our girl."

"All right, it started her sophomore year of high school," Tim started. "She met this guy over Winter break. She started getting a little rebellious about six months before when she found out the truth about her real dad. She put up the goody two shoes act in front of our parents, but once she stepped out of the house it was a different story. She started going to parties that she shouldn't have, which is where she met Austin Brubaker."

"Sheriff Brubaker's nephew," Hotch stated.

"She knew who he was, but she didn't care." Michael said. "He was a college freshman with a full-ride scholarship. She was completely smitten and couldn't see that he didn't feel the same way."

"How bad is this?" Fran asked.

"Double-check that the kids are still asleep," Joe told them.

Will got up and left the cabin of the plane and came back in a few seconds later.

"They're all still sound asleep," he told them. "Continue."

"For the next several weeks, I watched them." Tim started again. "They passed themselves off as a new couple, but I could see through it. He was getting frustrated that she wasn't giving it up for him. So I guess he took matters into his own hands."

"Oh god," Derek gasped. "Please no."

"You don't have to listen to this," Dave looked at his step-son.

"No, I'm ok." Derek looked at Tim. "Finish."

"It was around Valentine's Day," Tim said. "I had just arrived back home from my date with Shelley when the house phone rings. It was Penny asking me to pick her up. I drove out to the park we used to play at and found her at the entrance. Her clothes were torn, she had bruises and scratches everywhere, and there was blood-on her lower extremities."

"He called me because I was the only one of us in college that decided to attend a local university," Joe told them. "I met him at the local clinic and he told me that the nurses were still examining her. It took a long time for the examination because she was putting up a fight. Finally a nurse came out and told us the news that we were expecting but dreading."

"She was raped," Emily stated softly.

"Not just raped, she was gang-raped." Tim revealed.

"She was raped by a group of people?" Derek asked.

"At least four people," Tim stated to his shocked audience. "Austin and a few of his buddies from the football team."

"What she went through…." Sarah mumbled. "I can't even imagine."

"She didn't remember much of it initially because they drugged her and kept plying her with alcohol. The nurse was obligated to inform the authorities about what happened. Guess who showed up to take his statement."

"Sheriff Brubaker," Rossi sighed.

"He was just a deputy back then," Michael said.

"When he and his partner got the full statement from her and she started naming names, he told her that she was a liar and that we wouldn't get away with slandering his family."

"One of the night doctors escorted the authorities out and one of the nurses called our parents," Joe said. "They rushed down there and we told them what had happened. The next morning, they looked into filing charges and they got a lawyer."

"So did anything end up happening to the boys who did that to her?" Hotch asked.

"They got off scott-free when the lawyer told our parents that we would never be able to fight the Brubaker's. They donated to all kinds of causes all over town."

"So was that the end of it?" Derek asked

"I really wish it was,"

"When she started remembering everything-she couldn't handle it when it all came rushing back to her."

"What do you mean she couldn't handle it?"

"It was the Easter weekend and all of us were home for the holiday." Michael told them. "She had been in better spirits for the holiday, but that Monday when we were getting ready to head back to our dorms we all found letters addressed to each of us. They said that she was grateful to have been given brothers who would have her back and always protect her. She ended them with an apology for us not being able to save her this time."

"Oh god," JJ gasped. "She didn't-"

"We found her in the bathroom," Tim started again. "There were empty bottles of vodka and sleeping pills next to her unresponsive body."

"Our parents called for an ambulance and they rushed her to the hospital where they pumped her stomach and put her under a 72-hour suicide watch. When she woke up, she was told what the doctor recommended; an extended stay in a mental health facility in San Diego."

"She was institutionalized?" Derek asked.

"For nine months," Joe said. "I'm sure you can imagine the rumors that were going around when she returned."

"That she had a baby," Fran sighed, after keeping silent the entire time that Penelope's brothers were sharing their tale.

"The people that she had considered her friends had now turned on her. That was when she started getting more into computers and you know the rest."

"So we need the names of all parties involved in that incident," Hotch stated. "We also need to look into the rest of her life and see if we can come up with other suspects. We may not like it, but we're going to have to profile one of our own."

"Dad?" the door to the cabin opened and Mitchell's daughter, Elizabeth came in.

"What is it honey?" he looked at her.

"The boys are awake," she told them. "Ryan is asking for you, Fran."

"Are you ready to tell him, Baby Boy?" Fran looked into the screen.

"I'll tell him about her disappearance," he told her. "I think he's a little too young to hear the rest."

"Go get him," Fran nodded as Will walked out behind Elizabeth so that he could sit with Jack and Henry.

"Nana?" Ryan slowly walked in and she picked him up to sit in her lap and he saw Derek's face on the computer screen. "Dad? What's going on?"

"You're all flying down to San Francisco," Derek told him.

"For the vacation and sightseeing?"

"That was the original plan, but something else has come up."

"What is it?"

"Ok buddy, your mom and Spencer were getting ready to go over to Uncle Tim's when something happened."

"What happened?"

"Reid was attacked and someone took your mom."

"What?" Ryan started to tremble.

"I want you to know that we are doing everything we can to find out who did this."

"Is Spencer ok?"

"He's at the hospital, but the doctors say that he should wake up soon."

"You're going to find mom right?"

"We will not stop until we find her."

"Ok," Ryan said softly.

"I will see you when you get here," Derek told him. "But I have to get back to tracking down whoever did this."

"Find her dad,"

"We will. I love you buddy."

"I love you too," Derek smiled at him as the video feed ended.

"Come on," Fran stood up with Ryan. "Let's see what kind of snacks that your Nono has stocked in this place."

* * *

Derek sighed as he closed the laptop and looked at everyone surrounding him.

"I don't care what you say," Derek looked straight at Hotch. "I'm helping you with this anyway that I can."

"I want you to go with Tim," Hotch told him. "He may have tracked down a former boyfriend of Penelope's. Take Dave with you for reinforcements."

"You mean so that I don't kill him trying to get the truth out of him,"

"That too,"

"Let's go," Tim started to lead them out of the station.

"So where are we going?" Dave asked as the three of them climbed into one of the SUVs.

"The Pizza Shop," Tim stated as he pulled away.

"No offense," Derek spoke up from the back. "But we're not all that hungry."

"And this place isn't an actual pizza shop," Tim told them. "It was just a cover that Penelope used before she went underground."

"Are you taking us to Shane?" Derek asked.

"She told you about Shane?"

"Most of it,"

"Just keep yourself in check," Dave told him. "We need him to be able to walk for us to be able to take him in."

"Fine," Derek mumbled. "Just as long as we find Baby Girl."

"We'll find her," Dave assured him. "It hasn't been that long. And she's a survivor."

"Yes she is," Derek agreed as they started the drive across town.

* * *

Mickey waited until the trio had left the police station before opening up his laptop and turning it towards Hotch.

"There's something that they didn't tell you," he stated.

"What do you mean?" Hotch looked at him.

"Mickey don't-" Michael started.

"They have to know," Mickey looked at him. "You know they do."

"Fine,"

"What's going on?" Emily asked.

"The night of the 'incident'-there's proof of what happened,"

"What do you mean?"

"Someone recorded it-video taped it-put it up on the internet. And you know that once it's out there, it's out there forever."

"Let's see it," Hotch stated.

"But-" Emily started. "We can't see her like that."

"You know as well as I do that we have to see it. It may have some clues."

"Ok," Emily sighed as Mickey did a search for the video and pressed play.

* * *

Once the jet landed, Sarah and Desiree took a cab to the hospital while everyone else loaded into the waiting SUV that would take them to the precinct.

Desiree ran into the hospital once the cab came to a stop and rushed down the hall as Sarah tried to keep up with her sister. Desiree started to demand to the nurse at the desk to tell her what room Reid was in and started to yell when the nurse refused to tell her anything because she wasn't family.

"Des, there's JJ." Sarah pointed down the hall as the blond came out to see what all the commotion was about.

"JJ," Desiree went to her. "Where is Spencer? Is he ok?"

"He's better than ok," JJ led them down the hall and into a room. "He just woke up a few minutes ago."

"Hey," Reid smiled softly from his position on the bed.

"Oh thank god," Desiree raced to the bed. "I don't care about your whole thing about close contact. You scared the hell out of me!"

"I'm glad you're here," Reid smiled as she finally pulled away.

"If you guys don't mind keeping watch over him," JJ spoke up from the door. "I'm going to head back to the precinct and help out the team."

"Go!" Sarah demanded. "You find Penelope. Bring her back to all of us."

JJ rushed out of the room and down the hall as Desiree adjusted Reid's bed so he was sitting up a little and sat beside him.

"So everyone knows huh?" Reid looked at them. "About Penelope?"

"They know," Desiree told him. "How long have you known?"

"Just a couple days," he told them. "Just before we left for the case. So you guys know everything?"

"I think so,"

"Does JJ know-"

"About her suicide attempt, yes." Sarah stated as she stood on the other side of his bed. "I can't believe she went through all that. I mean, high school is supposed to be your last chance to have fun before adulthood begins."

"She didn't want to relive it," Reid stated. "But she had planned on telling your brother when we all got back to Virginia. She just wanted to enjoy a couple days with her family before it all came out."

"Well it's all out now."

"I just hope she's found soon,"

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked how this turned out. PLZ R&R!


	47. Chapter 47: Following Leads

**AN:** Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Lots of things going on right now. I'm still working on Stolen Heart and I hope to have a chapter out for all of you soon. I hope you like this update. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 47: Following Leads**

Derek followed Tim into the condemned building and looked around. It must've been a prominent business when it was up and running.

"Yo Sal!" Tim called towards the back. "You here?"

"Timothy Garcia," a balding man came out to them, pushing aside all the hanging plastic as he did so. "What brings you here?"

"We hope you can help us out," Tim beckoned Dave and Derek forward. "These are Agents Rossi and Morgan with the FBI."

"What can I do for you agents?"

"Our technical analyst is missing," Derek brought up a picture on his phone. "I believe you knew her awhile ago."

"Penelope," Sal gasped as he looked at Tim. "Your sister works for the FBI?"

"We were just reunited with her after many years," Tim told Sal. "When we found her again, we were told the story of her arrest. She was living with Shane when it all went down. Do you have any idea where your nephew is?"

"I don't," Sal sighed deeply.

"But you know how to get into contact with him," Dave stated.

"Yes," Sal nodded. "But it might take a few hours for him to respond."

"We'll be at the precinct," Tim told Sal. "We've kind of taken over, thanks to Uncle Horatio. Contact us when he contacts you."

"Count on it," Sal nodded as the three walked back out of the building.

"Can we trust him?" Derek asked. "I mean, Shane is his nephew."

"Yeah, but he never wanted Penelope to get with him." Tim said as they all climbed back into the SUV. "He knew her before Shane did. She worked as a hostess at the shop when it was still a business. The only reason he kept her for as long as he did is because she was a people person. And she could fix the computer system for him whenever it crashed."

"So how'd she end up with Shane?" Dave asked.

"He got to her when she was the most vulnerable," Tim sighed.

"After your parents' funeral," Derek said.

"Yep,"

"I just want to find her," Derek sighed.

"We all do," Dave looked back at him. "And we will."

They pulled back up to the police station as they saw another SUV pull up. They all climbed out as the doors to the other vehicle opened and Fran and Ryan climbed out on one side.

"Dad," Ryan ran to him and he picked him up. "Did you find mom yet?"

"Not yet," Derek told him. "But we have some leads."

"I'll wear glasses," Ryan said softly.

"What?" Derek looked at him.

"I'll wear glasses if I have to," Ryan stated. "I just want mom back."

"I know buddy, me too." he set him down again.

"JJ just pulled up," Dave announced.

"Is Reid ok?" Derek asked her as she got to Will.

"He woke up a little while ago," she told them. "Sarah and Desiree are going to stay with him."

"Thank goodness," Derek smiled as Clooney jumped out of the vehicle.

"I decided to bring him along to keep Ryan and Jack and Henry occupied while you guys are working the case." Fran told her son

"Thank you," They all started back into the precinct as Horatio came up to them.

"I set up a room in the back for the little ones," he told them. "I was going to make them all up some grilled cheese sandwiches."

"Thank you," Will nodded.

"I only eat mom's grilled cheese sandwiches," Ryan mumbled.

"Ryan, this is Horatio Garcia." Derek looked down at him. "Your mom's uncle. He's helping us."

"Hi," Ryan said softly.

"So you're the Ryan that everyone is talking about," Horatio knelt down before him. "I bet I could tell you some stories about your mom that you'll like."

"Go on," Derek urged him. "I'll be out here if you need me."

"I'll be with your boys," Fran looked at Derek, JJ and Hotch.

"Thank you," Hotch told her as the group disappeared into the back.

"Where's Emily?" Derek asked.

"She went to Tim's place to go through Garcia's things from high school," Hotch told them. "And she couldn't handle what Mickey showed us after you left."

"What do you mean?" Dave asked.

"There's video proof of what happened to Penelope,"

"What?"

"And Derek, no you are not watching it." Hotch looked at him. "You don't want to think of her like that."

"Have you found out anything else then?"

"We got the names of the other three who had a hand in her attack that night. Two of them are dead; drug overdoses, one is doing time in San Quentin, that just leaves the sheriff's nephew."

"And have you been able to track him down?"

"We contacted both of his parents. They both said that they haven't seen him in years. They've been estranged from him since the accusations came out."

"What about the sheriff?" JJ asked. "Maybe he's hiding his nephew."

"We did contact all the airlines," Hotch told them. "Austin Brubaker arrived in town a few weeks ago, but there's no record of what he's been doing since."

"A few weeks ago," Dave mumbled. "So just before we got the case that brought us all down here; including our analyst who very rarely travels with us."

"All right," Joe finished typing on his laptop. "I got that program up and running."

"What program?" Derek asked.

"About a month ago, Penelope sent me some programs that she had written. She said they would come in handy with my work as a PI. I haven't had a chance to try them out, until now."

"Which programs?"

"Right now, it's just one. I set up a track and trace on her cell number,"

"What about her other numbers?"

"Other-how many phones does she have?"

"One for personal use, one for work purposes, her blackberry and the one she has as a backup." Derek listed off.

"Give me the other numbers," Joe sighed. "Why does she have so many?"

"Don't you know by now that your sister's all about technology?" Dave looked at him. "She can barely go a few hours without using it."

"In these instances, I'm glad she has so many." Hotch stated. "Whoever took her won't know that she has so many."

"We're back," Emily came in with some boxes followed by Shelley.

"What'd you find?" Hotch asked her.

"Journals," Emily handed them to him. "These are just the ones that she kept in high school."

"Oh how I wish Reid was here," Dave opened up the one on top.

"I thought you might like these," Emily held out a box to Derek. "It's photo albums and home movies of your girl when she was younger. I figure it would keep Ryan occupied."

"Thanks," Derek took the box and started towards the back rooms.

He walked into one of the rooms and saw Ryan, Jack and Henry eating some sandwiches as Will and Fran sat nearby.

"How's it going out there?" Will asked.

"Slow," Derek sighed as he placed the box down. "Emily found something that we can look at to pass the time."

"What is it?" Fran asked as he opened the box.

"Old photos," he took out one of the albums as he looked at the boys. "Would you like to look at them with us?"

"Yeah," Jack and Henry ran to the couch as Ryan slowly followed.

"I could tell you the story to each picture," Horatio came in to them.

"Join us," Derek sat down with Ryan on his lap as he opened the first album.

"Ok, now this is the first family meeting," Horatio pointed out a picture. "My brother was so smitten with both of his girls…."

* * *

Sandy Cohen sat across from Seth at the table in the hotel restaurant. It had been a few weeks since he moved out of the mansion. When Kirsten got back to town with her father, she was livid that Sandy had moved out and had taken Seth with him. She tried to fight him on it-even got Caleb involved-but apparently Caleb Nichol didn't have as much pull as he thought he did. Now the only way that either of them could see Seth was under the watchful eye of Sandy or under the supervision of an officer of the court.

"Dad?" Seth looked at him. "Mom's here."

"What-" he turned to see Kirsten walking towards them. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my son,"

"You know you have to call first,"

"So I need to make an appointment to see my own son?"

"As of right now, yes you do."

"Seth-" Kirsten looked at him.

"Have you let Ryan go?" Seth asked her.

"Honey-"

"Then no," Seth responded. "Dad and I have plans tonight."

"On a school night?" Kirsten turned on Sandy.

"It won't take us that long," Sandy defended. "It's just to the comic book store. Besides, he's already finished all his homework hours ago."

"We need to talk," Kirsten stated. "We need to resolve all this."

"The only way that we can resolve this is if you drop the custody issue," Sandy told her. "Ryan is happy where he is. Why would you want to take that away from him?"

"Dad, I'm done." Seth announced.

"Let's head back and get cleaned up," Sandy got up from the table.

"Sandy-" Kirsten pleaded again.

"Leave," Sandy told her. "We'll talk about this later."

Sandy let them into their hotel room and Seth went to get washed up. After he was done, Sandy went into the bathroom as Seth turned on the TV.

"Dad!" Seth called. "I think Ryan's new mom is on TV!"

"What?" Sandy came out and saw the image of Penelope Garcia on the screen.

"They're in California," Seth told him. "She was kidnapped in San Francisco."

"I think we're going to have to reschedule comic store night," Sandy went to the phone and dialed a number.

* * *

A few hours later, all three boys were passed out again. Derek was still on the couch with Ryan as he slept with his head resting on Derek's lap. Fran came in and smiled at them as Derek looked at her.

"The jet lag is taking its toll on them," she whispered.

"Can you tell if they have any leads?" Derek asked her.

"Nothing yet," she sat beside him. "But they'll find her."

"It all just makes so much sense," he sighed.

"What?"

"Why she started fighting against the system. It's because it failed her."

"Yes it did,"

"And why it took so long for her to let us in after we hired her,"

"She was afraid to get close," Fran nodded.

"I should've never tried to push her to tell me what she was hiding,"

"Stop beating yourself up," Fran sighed. "Do you want to know what Spencer told the girls when they got to the hospital?"

"What?"

"She was planning to tell you everything,"

"She was?"

"After you all got back home, she was going to sit you down and tell you everything."

"Really?"

"Penelope told Spencer just before he was knocked out,"

"I just want her back,"

"You'll get her back,"

"Hey," JJ came into them. "We just got a call. Someone named Sal will be bringing a Shane Wyeth in to talk to us."

"He contacted him?" Derek asked.

"Who is Sal? And Shane?" Fran asked.

"Sal is someone that Penelope worked for when his pizza shop was still a legitimate business. Shane is Penelope's old boyfriend, the one she was with when she was arrested."

"Oh, him."

"They should be here in a few minutes," JJ told them.

"Just let me have some alone time with Shane,"

"Hotch said if we can't get him talking, then he'll think about it."

Derek slowly untangled himself from Ryan and covered him up again. Fran took the spot next to him as she watched her son follow JJ out of the room. She sighed as she looked down at Ryan so peaceful in his sleep. How she hoped that they would be getting some good news soon.

* * *

Derek and JJ walked out front as the doors opened and Derek spotted Sal dragging a skinny guy by the neck into them. Dave directed him to the nearest interrogation room and Sal shoved him in as Hotch followed and cuffed him to the table. Then Hotch and Sal came back out and joined everyone.

"A little force never hurt anyone," Sal stated.

"Did it take a lot of effort on your part?" Dave asked him.

"Just a little," Sal informed them. "But if I can help you locate your girl, I will gladly do it again."

"Stay close," Hotch told him. "We may need you."

"He's awake again," Derek looked and saw his mom coming up to him with Ryan.

"Hey buddy," Derek lifted him up. "Can't sleep?"

"I miss mom," he lay his head on Derek's shoulder. "I want her to read to me with those silly voices."

"I know," Derek ran his hand down his back. "I want her back too."

"Mom?" Sal watched the exchange. "Penelope is a mom?"

"Not officially yet," Derek told him. "This is my soon-to-be adopted son Ryan. Penelope and I have been dating for awhile now. She's been living with us for the past several weeks and Ryan already calls her mom."

"You have my permission to use excessive force with my nephew," Sal looked at all the agents. "Anyone who would keep a mother from her child deserves-"

"I'll talk to him first," Dave started into the room.

"Are you hungry?" Derek looked at Ryan and he nodded. "Horatio went to get us all some breakfast. He should be here soon."

"Hey Ryan," Tanner came up to them. "After we eat breakfast, want to play soccer? We can kick the ball around on the back lot."

"Ok," Ryan said softly as Horatio arrived and passed out all the food.

* * *

Hotch followed Rossi into the interrogation room and sat across from Shane. He looked back at them with a smug look as Hotch opened a file that he had brought with them.

"So I know you know why you're here," Rossi stated.

"My Uncle said that Penelope is missing," Shane met Dave's gaze. "I had nothing to do with it."

"Where were you around six o'clock last night?"

"With friends,"

"At your underground 'gaming' center?"

"So Penelope told you?"

"She hasn't breathed a word of her life with you since she joined our team," Hotch spoke up. "She doesn't think about you anymore."

"She never should've left," Shane stated. "She walked right into your trap."

"Let me show you something," Dave opened the door to the room and pointed to where everyone was sitting around. "See that woman out there? That's my wife Fran. Sitting next to her is her son Derek, my step-son."

"I know all about Derek Morgan-"

"That little boy sitting in between them is Ryan. He is Derek's foster son. He took him in when he met him at the orphanage that he volunteers at. Ryan's real parents aren't in the right state of mind to parent anyone," Dave glanced at Shane before continuing. "Derek and Penelope have been dating for awhile, thanks to this team who could see that they belonged together. Ryan started calling them both mom and dad a few weeks ago."

"What is your point?" Shane grumbled.

"My point is that the family is torn apart. That little boy keeps asking us when his mom is coming back,"

"I had nothing to do with her disappearance,"

"But you know who we should be looking at, don't you?" Hotch stated.

"Sorry to interrupt," JJ rushed into the room. "But you two need to get out here right now."

"What's going on?" Hotch asked.

"Just come with me," the three of them left Shane handcuffed to the table and rushed out to see Fran, Emily, and Penelope's brothers gathered around Derek.

"What's going on?" Dave asked them.

"I'm not sure if this is real or not," Derek looked up from his phone. "But I have several texts from Baby Girl's backup cell."

* * *

 **AN:** Another cliffhanger! So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. I hope to have another update out for all of you soon along with the next update for Stolen Heart. PLZ R&R!


	48. Chapter 48: Found!

**AN:** I've been feeling really ill the last few days, so I decided to do some writing while I vegged out. I ended up having to go to Urgent Care because I got some intense stomach pains that would not go away. I was diagnosed with Gastritis, which for those of you that don't know, is inflammation of the stomach lining. I believe that I developed it because I take allergy pills that are non-coated. Taking non-coated pills is bad enough, but it's especially bad for me with my Acid Reflux. Thankfully, I'm fine now. I've just been put on a very bland diet until the Gastritis clears up.

Sorry for rambling, but I promise that I am still working on Stolen Heart. This one has just been easier to write for me. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 48: Found!**

"I have several texts from Baby Girl's backup cell." Derek told everyone.

Everyone gathered around Derek as he opened each of the text messages. Shelley and the rest of her sister-in-laws had taken all the kids outside to keep them occupied.

"What do they say?" Dave asked him.

"It's her," Derek told them. "She's following the protocol that we set up."

"Protocol?" Tim asked.

"Look being in the FBI, we know that we could be potential targets. We set up certain routines so that if something happened to us, the other one would know that we're ok."

"Ok, so what do they say?" JJ asked.

"The first one says, 'I'm ok. Don't try to call or text. Will text you when it's safe.'"

"The next one came in not even five minutes later," JJ read over his shoulder. "It's just a date."

"The next few texts will be her letting me know that it's really her," Derek told them.

"So then what's the significance of September 16th?"

"The weekend at Dave's cabin. The day he and Ryan locked us in the wine cellar. The day we got together."

"What's the next one?" Hotch asked, hoping that they were close to finding their missing team member.

"Eyebrows," Derek smirked. "First nickname she gave me. After we arrested her and I was unlocking her from the handcuffs."

"Keep going,"

"Next one says, Gomez. What I called her because that's what Reid told me was her name." He kept scrolling. "This one says Blue Ridge Strangler. The first case she helped us with."

"Anymore?" Fran asked.

"Wait a few minutes-" Derek told them as they heard a loud beeping.

"It's working," Joe rushed over to his laptop. "What the-this program must be malfunctioning or something."

"Baby Girl's programs have never given us any problems." Derek told him.

"Then explain why it's telling me that my sister's cell phone is somewhere in this station."

"What-" Derek stopped as his cell phone went off again and he opened the text message. "Ok, this I'm not sure what it means."

"What is it?" Hotch asked him.

"It's just a series of numbers,"

"It's longitude and latitude," Emily looked over his shoulder. "She's giving us the location. Move!"

"Ahh!" Joe fell to the ground as Emily took over his laptop and typed.

"The program wasn't wrong," Emily told them as a map popped up on the screen and she enlarged it. "She's near us, just not in this station. It shows her location on the other side of the parking lot."

"Where's Mickey?" Derek asked.

"He and Horatio went out to help the girls with all the kids," Tim told him. "Please don't tell me that you think he is behind her disappearance. He stepped aside because we were all taking over."

"We're not accusing him," Derek assured him. "He knows this property though."

"Dad!" they all looked up as the door opened and Ryan ran into them. "I just saw mom!"

"What?" Derek rushed over to him and knelt down before him as the door opened again and Tanner ran in.

"Man, he is fast." He tried to catch his breath. "I couldn't keep up with him."

"Is what he just told us true?" Derek looked at him. "He said that he just saw Penelope."

"It's true," Tanner told them. "Mom told us to come get you."

"Show us," they all followed behind the kids as they led them outside and on the other side of the lot where everyone else was.

All of the kids were situated on the grassy area away from the adults, who were trying to get Clooney away from an area just under a hill.

"Get your pooch Derek!" Mickey told him and he ran over and pulled him away as Fran took hold of him by his collar.

"Ryan just ran into the station and told us that he saw Penelope," Derek looked at them. "Where did he see her?"

"In here," Mickey gestured to the area that Clooney had been digging at and they all saw a small window just visible through the glass. "I saw a figure too, just before they hastily moved away."

"But in your honest opinion?"

"It sure as hell looked like your girl."

"So what's down there?" JJ asked.

"It leads to a structure that was built to originally be used for a bomb shelter. Through the years, people have taken refuge in it from earthquakes and other natural disasters."

"So where's the entrance?" Hotch asked.

"On the other side of the hill," Mickey told him.

"Well let's go," Derek started walking.

"Hold on," Hotch stopped him.

"I know I'm too involved in this," Derek looked at his boss. "But there is nothing and no one that will stop me from going in to get my girl."

"I understand that," Hotch assured him. "I was going to say that Mickey knows more about this than us. He's going to have to take the lead and we're going to have to trust his judgement."

"Right," Derek nodded.

After much arguing from everyone, in the end it was decided that Derek, Hotch and Rossi would follow Mickey into the hideout. JJ called for an ambulance just in case and she and Emily were helping to keep all the kids calm.

Mickey led the three of them to the other side of the embankment where an old rusted door was seen. They examined it more closely and deduced that it had been opened recently. Mickey opened it with a loud screech and they all proceeded inside as they all took out their flashlights.

"It is a long tunnel," Mickey said softly. "We're all going to have to move slowly."

The group of four slowly crept down the narrow tunnel as they shone their lights all around them. After about ten minutes, they got to a series of steps and slowly started up them.

"Wait," Mickey halted. "There's a body, a woman."

"Baby Girl?" Derek asked softly.

"It's not Penelope," Mickey told him. "It's Shannon."

"The sheriff's secretary?" Dave asked. "The one claiming to have been best friends with Kitten in high school?"

"The same," Mickey told them. "She's still breathing, she was just knocked out."

"Let's keep going," Hotch stated and they started moving again.

They went up another set of stairs and had to stop again as they came to another body.

"Austin Brubaker," Mickey mumbled. "He's been knocked out too."

"Let's keep moving," Dave pulled Derek away as they reached the top of the last set of stairs.

"Freeze!" a voice called out and their flashlights lit up the face of Sheriff Brubaker.

"Drop your weapon sheriff!" Mickey called out. "It's all over."

"Not yet it isn't. I'm not going away because of those bad seeds."

"We know all about what you did," Rossi stated. "How you covered up your nephew's crimes back then-"

"He never did what she accused him of,"

"We have proof," Hotch stated. "There's a video of the rape."

"I didn't believe it back then, I don't believe it now-" Derek glanced around and his eyes widened at what appeared above them.

"Everyone duck!" he shouted and the group of four hit the ground.

A few moments later, they heard a loud 'thunk' and a 'clang' as two things hit the ground. Hotch was the first one to recover and shone his flashlight as he saw the sheriff knocked out on the ground before them and a piece of pipe rolling away from him.

"What just happened?" Dave asked.

"Nice shot, Baby Girl." Derek chuckled.

"I learned from the best, Handsome." they all heard a familiar voice respond.

They all stood up and shone their flashlights around until the beams landed on the face of Penelope Garcia perched above them near some pipes.

"So what the hell took you so long?" Penelope demanded.

"We got here as fast as we could." Derek smiled at her.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you Kitten," Dave smiled.

"Are you ok Garcia?" Hotch asked her as she attempted to climb down from her spot.

"Fine, just a little light-headed."

"Let me help you," Mickey helped her down to the ground and maneuvered her out, where Derek took her in his arms.

"Thank goodness you're ok," he held her tightly.

"JJ," Hotch spoke into his intercom. "We found Garcia, have the EMTs waiting at the entrance."

"What about this one?" Mickey kicked the sheriff. "And the other two?"

"We'll handle them." Dave told him. "Ready to get out of here Kitten?"

"You bet," she smiled as Derek lifted her up into his arms as he saw her starting to sway on her feet.

* * *

JJ and Emily stood nervously near the entrance of the structure as Fran kept Ryan near everyone else. JJ got the call they had been hoping for and relayed it to Emily, who ran over to tell everyone else.

"Are they coming?" Ryan ran over to JJ. "Is mom coming?"

"I think I hear something," JJ held him to her as the rickety door opened.

Mickey came out first and smiled at everyone crowded around as he held the door open. Hotch came out next, followed by Rossi, until finally Derek appeared with a figure in his arms.

"Mom!" Ryan broke away from JJ as Derek put her down.

"Hey baby," Penelope held him to her.

"I told you I'd find her buddy," Derek smiled at them.

"So what happened?" Tim asked.

"There are three unconscious bodies down that tunnel," Dave told them. "Our girl definitely fought back."

"Way to go Garcie." JJ smiled at her.

"Garcia, let the EMTs take a look at you." Hotch told her. "That's not a suggestion, that's an order."

"I'm going to ride with your mom to the hospital," Derek looked at Ryan. "You're going to stay with your Nana until they'll let her have visitors."

"Ok," he said softly.

"I will see you soon," Penelope told Ryan as she was led over to the ambulance.

"Why don't we all head to the hospital while these guys finish with the scene," Fran suggested and they all walked out to their vehicles and pulled away as Dave and Hotch went back inside the tunnel followed by JJ and Emily to apprehend the three suspects.

* * *

Derek was sitting next to Penelope on the examining table as the doctor and nurses continued to examine her and got her cleaned up. She was slowly telling him what had transpired while she was being held in that bomb shelter.

"It was just Austin at first," she told him. "He knocked me out first thing. When I came to, I knew something was off. But I heard voices, so I made them think that I was still knocked out. Then I heard the sheriff. They didn't plan on doing anything to me until I was conscious. I knew I had to fight back."

"And fight back you did," Derek saw all her defensive wounds. "I'm so proud of you, Baby Girl."

"You know-everything-don't you?" she looked at him. "What happened to me?"

"Yeah," he held her. "Your brothers told us everything."

"I was going to tell you," she said softly.

"I know," he held her. "Reid told my sisters and they told my mom, who told me."

"Is Reid ok?" Penelope started to panic. "I tried to help him."

"He is fine," Derek assured her. "Just a slight concussion, but the doctor said that he'll be fine."

"Good," she sighed.

"Just so you know," he looked at her. "What I found out, doesn't change a thing."

"You're sure?" she glanced at him.

"Positive," he kissed her cheek. "It just means that you are one of the strongest people that I know."

"I just don't want this to change anything," she said softly. "I don't want everybody looking at me differently now."

"They won't be," he kissed her again. "I promise."

"All right," the doctor smiled at them. "Everything looks good, but you seem to be a little dehydrated, Ms. Garcia."

"I can't remember when it was that I last ate anything," she said softly.

"Which is probably why you're so light-headed." Derek told her.

"What I want to do is get you hooked up to an IV," the doctor told her. "I would like to keep you overnight just incase, but I don't see anything stopping us from releasing you in the morning."

"Thank you," Penelope smiled at her.

"We'll get you moved into a room in a little bit,"

"How about I meet you up there with Ryan?" Derek looked at her. "He's probably driving my mom crazy asking for you."

"Yes please," she smiled at him. "I want to see my boy."

"I'll go get him now," he kissed her deeply on the lips. "I'll see you soon."

"I am so jealous," the nurse smiled at her former classmate as Derek left. "I always worried about you, Penelope."

"As you can see, I'm fine Nikki." she smiled at her former computer club member.

"More than fine, from what I can tell."

* * *

Derek walked out into the waiting area and spotted everyone waiting for him, including Reid and his sisters.

"Pretty Boy, you're ok." he smiled at him.

"I was signing my release papers when JJ called me," Reid told him. "How's Garcia?"

"She's fine, just a little dehydrated." Derek told everyone. "They're getting her into a room right now."

"Can we see her yet?" Emily asked.

"She's asking for Ryan, so he and I get first visit."

"Can we see her now?" Ryan went to him.

"They're still getting her into her room," Derek picked him up and walked away from the group. "I actually need to talk to you about something."

"What?"

"I was going to ask your mom something over Christmas, but given what we all just went through I think I'm going to ask her before we leave the hospital. But I need your opinion on it."

"What are you going to ask her?" Ryan asked Derek as he whispered into his ear, making the little boy smile. "Really?"

"What do you think?"

"You should ask her,"

"Well I want you to be there when I do,"

"Ok," Ryan smiled as he hugged Derek tightly.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!


	49. Chapter 49: Putting The Past To Rest

**AN:** I am so not feeling good right now, but I wanted to get this out to you before I tried to get some sleep tonight. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 49: Putting The Past To Rest**

Penelope was laughing and joking around with Nikki when there was a knock at the door. She smiled as it was pushed open and she saw Derek there with Ryan.

"Mom," Ryan ran over to the bed.

"Climb on up sweetie," she moved over a little bit and Ryan climbed up beside her.

"I'll go now," Nikki gathered her nurses caddy. "I'll go see about getting something for you to eat."

"Actually we already have something coming," Derek told her. "We ordered some chinese if that's all right."

"That is perfectly fine," Nikki smiled at the family before leaving the room.

"So how do you know her?" Derek sat on the bed with her.

"We went to school together," she told him. "She was one of the nice ones. We were in computer club together."

"And she's a nurse now,"

"She wasn't as into them as I was. Though she told me that she can help the hospital out when the computer system crashes."

Ryan clung to Penelope tightly as she smiled down at him. He rested his head on her side as she kissed his forehead.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," she told them. "But thinking of you is what helped me start to fight back against them."

"You're back now. That's all that matters." Derek smiled at her. "And we can move on from it and start to make plans."

"What plans?"

"Christmas plans for one," he smiled at her. "Seeing Ryan in the play…"

"That's right," Penelope smiled at Ryan. "How are the rehearsals going?"

"Snoopy doesn't do much," Ryan shrugged. "He has no lines, I bark sometimes."

"We are still coming to see you," Derek told him. "And I hear it might snow."

"I've never seen snow,"

"Then I hope it does snow," Derek smiled. "We can build snowmen and go sledding…"

"And have hot chocolate as we sit in front of the fireplace to get warm after spending all day outside." Penelope added.

"Special delivery," there was a knock at the door before Dave came in with his arms full of takeout bags.

"Thanks man," Derek took it all from him as he pulled the rolling table over to the bed. "I hope you all don't mind waiting a little bit longer to see her."

"Not at all," Dave smiled at Penelope. "As long as you're ok, we all understand that you need a little family time."

"Thank you," Penelope smiled at him as he walked out again.

"Sweet and sour chicken," Derek handed it to Ryan. "Fried rice, white rice…."

"Can I have my fortune cookie first?" Ryan asked

"Absolutely," Derek smiled. "We all can."

They all took their cookies and broke them open. Ryan and Derek smiled at each other as they watched Penelope become speechless.

"What-" she looked at them as the diamond ring fell out of her cookie. "How-"

"I had this all planned out," Derek took the ring. "It was going to be this big spectacle on Christmas Eve with all of our friends and family present. But with all the recent events that happened, I decided that I couldn't wait. And Ryan needs to be present for this since he's had a hand in our relationship from the beginning."

"But-"

"Just let me talk," Derek smiled at her and she nodded. "Penelope, it's always been you. I was just too stubborn to admit it out loud. You are my everything. Our everything. You're the first person I want to see in the morning and the last person before I go to sleep. You are and will continue to be an amazing mother. We would be lost without you. So will you please make us the happiest guys in your life. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she whispered as the tears streamed down her face. "Yes! I will marry you!"

"Yay!" Ryan hugged her tightly as Derek slid the ring on her finger and joined in.

* * *

Everyone was pacing restlessly down the hall as they waited for Derek to come out and tell them that they could come see Penelope. They all stopped as they heard Ryan's excited yell from down the hall.

"Well he asked her," Dave smiled as they saw a nurse heading towards them.

"Derek asked me to come get you," she smiled at them. "I can take you to see Penelope now."

They all stood up and followed her down the hall and into a private room. They all filed in around the bed and smiled as they saw Ryan clinging to her and Derek sitting beside them.

"She said yes!" Derek announced and they all cheered.

"So when will you make it official?" JJ asked.

"We just got engaged two minutes ago," Penelope told them. "I haven't even started thinking about anything yet."

"We could-"

"Let me enjoy the rest of this time out here with my family and we can start on everything when we get back home."

"Deal,"

They all stayed for the rest of the night just talking and joking around until the night nurse came and told them that visiting hours were over. Derek and Ryan decided that they were going to stay the night and put up quite a fight with the nurse when she began to protest until Dave stepped in and worked it out with her.

* * *

The next morning, Dave arrived at the hospital early after getting an urgent call from Hotch. He walked into Penelope's room and smiled as he saw Ryan curled up next to Penelope on the bed while Derek was passed out as he slept in the very uncomfortable hospital chair. He went to Derek and started to shake him and he startled awake.

"What-" he sat up and looked around. "Dave?"

"Get kicked out of bed?" he chuckled.

"Yeah, by Ryan." he rubbed his eyes as he looked outside and saw that it was still dark out. "Why are you here so early?"

"I got a call from Hotch," he told him. "He wants you down in the room where all the suspects are."

"On it," he got up off the chairs.

"Don't do anything stupid," they heard a whisper from the bed.

"I promise, Baby Girl." he went to kiss her.

"We can't promise the same thing for your brothers though," Dave told her. "But I will try to keep them all in check."

"Thank you," she smiled softly.

"Now go back to sleep," Derek told her. "You definitely need your rest. Your brothers are planning a big welcome home dinner for you."

"Yeah, ok." she fell back asleep as they left the room.

* * *

"So have they said anything?" Derek asked as they walked down to the room that was being guarded by two uniformed officers.

"Well Shannon started dating Austin around the time that Penelope went underground," Dave told him. "They both had a mutual interest in making her pay for what she did to them."

"What did she ever do to Shannon?"

"She has it in her head that it's somehow her fault that she never got with Tim,"

"I never would've gotten with that thing," Tim stated as he joined the two of them with the rest of his brothers.

"We don't belong here!" they heard the screams before they all walked into the room where the three of them were cuffed to their beds.

"You kidnapped a federal agent," Hotch spat out. "You are going away for a very long time."

"She came willingly," Austin spat.

"Not according to her," Derek stated.

"She wanted to come with me," Austin smirked at him. "She said she was bored with the mundane life she found herself in."

"If that's true, why did you have her in that bomb shelter?" Dave asked. "Penelope deserves to be pampered and spoiled-"

"That fat cow deserved everything she got!" Shannon shouted. "If it wasn't for her-"

"I never wanted you," Tim stepped forward. "I would've been miserable if I was stuck with you. I have a great life with my wife and kids."

"I want to show the three of you something," Hotch opened up his laptop and pressed a button. "This is concrete proof that your nephew did those acts back then. This footage has not been altered in any way."

"H-How did you get that?" Austin stuttered as the video ended.

"One of your buddies posted it online back then," Dave came forward. "Once it's out there, it's out there forever."

"Austin," the door opened and an older lady came in.

"Mom? How did you-"

"We called her," Dave told him. "I figured that it was time for a little family reunion between you two."

"I won't let you do this again," Miranda Brubaker stated. "I won't let you ruin that sweet innocent girl's reputation again."

"Miranda-"

"Shut up Stewart!" she spat. "If I hadn't listened to you back then, then you three wouldn't be in this mess right now. I'm going to be testifying against you-all of you. I just hope that it's not too late to save my son."

"Mom!" Austin called after her as she left the room.

"I would like to thank the three of you," Derek stated as he stepped forward.

"What?" Joe looked at him in surprise.

"Thank us for what?" Shannon glared at him.

"If your little boyfriend didn't do what he did back then, my Baby Girl wouldn't have gotten so into computers, wouldn't have gone underground with other people just like her when she felt she had no one left, she wouldn't have been arrested, been offered her dream job with her dream life, and she wouldn't have agreed to marry me and along with it adopt our son with me."

"You're actually marrying that cow?" Shannon spat.

"You better shut your mouth right now before I decide to let her loose," Derek said menacing. "And I don't think you want that, especially after the number she did to all of you in that bomb shelter."

"Go back to her Derek," Dave pulled him back. "I think it's about the time that they should be releasing her."

"Fine," he started out of the room, but turned back to the three occupants on the beds. "She won, you lost."

* * *

Derek got back to the room and smiled when he saw Penelope and Ryan awake. They were watching cartoons together as they ate out of the styrofoam containers that set before them filled with eggs, bacon and toast.

"Hey," Penelope smiled at him. "How'd it go?"

"Dave pulled me out before I got too out of control," he joined them on the bed.

"Good,"

"But your brothers are still in there."

"It's too late to try to change them," she told him. "But with you, there's still time."

"You have already changed me for the good Sweetness." he kissed her softly.

"I'm eating here," Ryan told them and they smiled at him.

"So any news from the doctor?" Derek asked.

"I'm all set to leave whenever I want," she told him. "I was just going to finish breakfast."

"Sounds good," he smiled as he joined them on the bed.

A half hour later, Penelope had signed the release papers and had gotten changed in the clothes that JJ and Emily had brought by the night before. She climbed into the SUV with Ryan and Derek as the three of them made their way to her brothers house to celebrate not only her homecoming, but their engagement as well.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. I don't want to drag this out too much longer, but I wanted to include the storyline for the Season 2 episode Profiler, Profiled. After that I will start to wrap it all up. Hopefully I will feel better in a couple days so that I can start on the next update for all of you guys. PLZ R&R!


	50. Chapter 50: Good To Be Back

**AN:** Here's an update for all of you. I'm sorry about the long wait in between updates. Still trying to cope with some health problems. And trying to cope with having developed Lactose Intolerance. Anyway I hope everyone had an awesome 4th Of July. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 50: Good To Be Back**

When Derek pulled into Tim's driveway, Penelope smiled when she saw all the cars there. She started to open her door and found Ryan standing before her.

"Are you going to be worse than your dad?" she asked him.

"Maybe," he smiled at her.

"Please take it easy for a little bit, Baby Girl." Derek reached her side and helped her out of the car.

"Only for today," she stated. "Tomorrow we're supposed to go sight-seeing and I can't rest for that."

"Just today," he nodded as they all started into the house.

"Take me outside,"

"Baby-"

"I promise to rest, but only if you take me outside."

"Deal," Derek led her out the back door where the grill was set up on the deck and there were patio furniture, picnic tables and folding chairs set up.

"We set up an area for you," Shelley came over to them. "We all knew that you wouldn't want to rest inside while everyone else was out here."

"Damn straight," she stated as Derek got her situated on the lounge chair.

"This way you can see everything," Shelley told her. "But you don't have to move because we told all your brothers to get you whatever you wanted."

"So they're all basically at my beck and call?" Penelope smiled. "I can have some fun with this."

"You keep your mom company," Derek looked at Ryan. "I have a couple calls to make. I'll let the rest of the team know that we're here."

"You don't have to stay with me," Penelope looked at Ryan as Derek started talking on his phone as he walked into the house. "You can go have some fun with your cousins."

"But dad said-"

"Your dad is just overprotective," she told him. "Just like you can be sometimes. But you need to be a kid and have some fun. Besides, I see all my nephews and nieces getting all the go-carts and four wheelers out."

"I'm going," Ryan ran down the deck steps.

"The team is on their way," Derek came back out to them. "And Reid and my mom and sisters are almost here."

"Good,"

"Where's Ryan?"

"I told him to go be a kid and have fun." she stated. "And you don't have to stay with me either. Go help my brothers with the grill or something."

"And who will make sure that you actually rest?"

"We're here," Fran came out with Sarah, Desiree and Reid.

"They can," Penelope smiled at Derek. "They'll keep me company while you go get to know my brothers more."

"Fine," he walked towards where Tim was grilling up some burgers and hot dogs.

"Ok," Fran pulled a patio chair over. "How overbearing is my son being?"

"Very," Penelope sighed. "I understand that I worried you all and I understand his need to protect me, but he better back off real soon."

"I'll talk to him," Reid got up and walked over to the group surrounding the grill.

"Oh sure, he can get up. And he had a concussion."

"Tell you what," Fran smiled at her. "You rest for an hour and then you go have some fun with your family."

"But Derek is watching me like a hawk."

"I'll take care of my son. Besides, I'm a nurse. My word is final."

"Thank you," she smiled.

Suddenly, Ryan ran up on the deck with the rest of his cousins; each of them were armed with water balloons.

"What are you doing?" Penelope looked at them.

"Nothing," Daniel told her as he looked through a pair of binoculars. "Ok, someone is coming down the sidewalk."

"What are they-" Desiree started as she saw them all take out sling shots.

"Where'd they get those?" Sarah asked.

"They probably made them," Penelope shrugged. "Or they found our old ones."

"You had a sling shot?"

"And used it?"

"Growing up with four brothers? Of course I did." she smiled. "Besides we only used them to aim rocks at bulls eyes. We didn't use them with water balloons boys."

"There's a group of people coming now," Daniel said, ignoring his aunt. "Aim a little more to the left."

"This is not going to end well," Fran stated.

"Probably not-" Penelope started as they heard a familiar yell. "Uh-oh."

"What just happened?" Derek came over with Reid. "Why do they all have sling shots?"

"You'll find out in a minute," Desiree said.

"Hide me," Ryan went to Fran.

"Who did you hit?" Penelope asked.

"I think it was Uncle Aaron."

"Tanner, take him to the go-carts." Penelope demanded. "Now!"

"On it," he took Ryan's hand as the team came out to them. "Let's go!"

"Hey guys," Penelope smiled at them. "Hey Boss Man. You look a little wet."

"What happened?" Sarah asked nonchalantly.

"One of your nephews or nieces hit me with a water balloon," Hotch looked at Penelope. "Are you covering for them?"

"I've been sitting here since we arrived," Penelope told him. "I didn't see any of my nieces or nephews throw a water balloon."

"Besides that kind of thing is normal when you're around us," Michael came up to them. "Just be lucky that they didn't throw anything at you that was on fire."

"Quit scaring them," his wife, Sarah came up to them. "Although he is right. You should get used to that kind of thing if you plan on hanging around this family for long periods of time."

"It's ready everyone!" Tim called and they all ran up the steps.

"You stay put," Derek looked at Penelope. "I'll grab you a plate."

"For now I'll stay put," she mumbled.

"I'll sit here," Ryan ran up and sat next to Penelope on the lounge chair.

"I love your company," she smiled at him. "Will you save some room for your dad?"

"No," he shook his head as Derek came back with a couple plates. "You sit somewhere else."

"Sorry Handsome," Penelope accepted one of the plates from him. "The kid has spoken and his word goes."

"Yeah, yeah." he pulled another chair up to the group. "So what are we doing tomorrow? You're our tour guide, right Baby Girl?"

"Absolutely," she smiled. "We could climb up to the top of the Golden Gate bridge, but I know some people are afraid of heights."

"Yeah," Derek nodded as he watched Ryan slowly eating his food.

"We could go down to the wharf. It's a lot of fun, from what I remember."

"Sounds like a plan," Derek smiled as his phone went off. "Hold that thought. I'll be right back."

"Can we get the 4-wheelers out?" Daniel asked.

"I want to ride," Ryan went to follow his cousins.

"Don't worry," Joe looked at them. "I'll keep an eye on them."

"Make sure he wears a helmet!" Penelope called as Derek came back to them.

"What's he need a helmet for?" he asked her.

"They're getting out the 4-wheelers," she told him. "Relax, he'll be fine. I mean, my brothers had me on one for the first time when I was four."

"Four?" Emily looked at her.

"I was on a go-cart for the first time at three,"

"Who was on the phone?" Dave asked

"Gloria," he sat next to Penelope. "She thinks that we need to have a meeting with all parties. Rachel, Ryan's social worker from Newport agrees. When I told her that we were already in California, she said that she can schedule the meeting for tomorrow. She's calling Rachel so she can inform the Cohen's."

"So when are we telling Ryan?" Penelope asked.

"Let's let him have some fun," Derek turned to watch him. "Wait, is he riding one by himself?"

"Relax," Penelope held him back. "Joe is watching them all and Tanner is right by Ryan's side."

"Let the kid have some fun," Dave told him as they saw Olivia come out of the house.

"I was told to bring these out." she told them. "Apparently you guys will have a blast looking through these."

"Are those mine or one of my brothers?" Penelope spotted the pile of yearbooks.

"Yours. I can totally take these back if you want-"

"It's fine," Penelope brushed it off. "I don't mind them seeing those. It's just a drastic change for me going from sophomore to junior year. Just don't judge me too much."

"Judge you for what?" Desiree asked.

"You'll see,"

"We never did get to talk to you," JJ and Emily sat beside her.

"I swear, if you guys start looking at me different now-"

"We would never do that," Emily told her.

"We just want to make sure that you're ok," JJ added.

"I'm fine," Penelope assured them. "I've come to terms with what happened to me a long time ago. It doesn't define me anymore. And I would love it if we didn't talk about it anymore."

"Deal," they smiled at each other.

"Whoa," Derek looked up from one of the yearbooks. "You weren't kidding."

"I said don't judge me," Penelope told him.

"What is it?" Fran asked.

"Brace yourselves," Derek held the yearbook out so they could all see. "Baby Girl was a cheerleader."

"No way,"

"Let me see,"

"I quit after sophomore year," Penelope told them.

"What would you guys say if I told you that I would like to get Ryan his own 4-wheeler for Christmas?" Dave spoke up.

"He'd only be able to ride it at your house," Derek told him. "There's not enough room for him to ride it at ours."

"So is that a yes?"

"That's a I'll think about it,"

"Penelope did you play Annie?" Desiree asked as she was looking through a scrapbook. "There's a program from the play."

"Oh man," she mumbled. "I'm going to kill my brothers."

"You were in Annie?" Derek took the scrapbook from his sister.

"My first taste of acting," she said. "I shouldn't have even been there, but Michael was trying out while I had to wait for him. The teacher who was in charge of casting asked if I wanted to try out just for fun."

"She totally blew them away," Michael came up to them. "They couldn't believe that such a big voice came out of such a small body."

They all spent the rest of the day just reminiscing and looking through old photo albums as Penelope and all her brothers took turns telling them all stories about each picture.

They all eventually gathered around the fire pit as they all started making up S'mores. Ryan hung out with his new cousins all night as he tried to include Jack and Henry in all their fun. Derek finally carried a passed-out Ryan up to Penelope's old bedroom and got him settled in a sleeping bag on the floor.

Derek and Penelope slowly got ready to turn in for the night and collapsed on the bed beside each other as they felt the effects of the long day they just had. Derek turned out the light and they both settled in for a long sleep as they thought about how they would tell Ryan their news and how he would take the news of their changed plans for the morning.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!


	51. Chapter 51: Newport Meeting

**AN:** Another update for you guys. I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 51: Newport Meeting**

Derek silently drove the rental car down the busy highway. He glanced over at Penelope who gave him a reassuring smile. He turned the radio down as he glanced in the rearview mirror at Ryan, who had been silent the entire car ride from Penelope's brother's house in San Francisco a few hours ago.

They had a big breakfast that morning before they sat Ryan down and told him what the plan was that day. He had become very quiet and had barely spoken a word to them since.

"How are you doing kiddo?" Penelope turned to look back at him as she saw the sign that told them they had just reached the city limits going into Newport.

"We'll be there in a little bit," Derek told him.

"It's going to be fine," Penelope smiled at him. "We'll be there with you."

Derek pulled up a slanted driveway and turned off the car. They slowly climbed out of the car as they saw Gloria climbing out of one of the cars in the driveway.

"Penelope," Gloria went up to her and embraced her tightly. "I heard what happened. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Penelope smiled at her. "It kind of forced me to come clean to everybody though."

"That's a good thing,"

"The not-so-good thing is that our boss is now making me go to counseling so that I will be able to deal with it."

"It'll be good for you, Baby Girl." Derek came over to her with Ryan.

"And I hear congratulations are in order," Gloria smiled at them. "When's the wedding?"

"We haven't really had time to make any plans yet." Penelope smiled at her. "But once we get back to Virginia, JJ and Emily want to get together. Along with Derek's mom and sisters."

"So how is he?" Gloria saw Ryan clinging to Derek's side tightly.

"We just told him this morning," Penelope said. "He's been very quiet ever since."

"I think he wants to see Seth," Derek said. "And maybe Mr. Cohen. But not Mrs. Cohen."

"Ryan, do you trust me?" Gloria knelt down in front of him so she was looking him in the eye and he slowly nodded. "Then trust me when I say that if at any point you don't want to be in the room you just let us know and we'll get you out of there."

"And that is why we called in our reinforcements," Derek smiled as he saw two cars pull up; Dave and Fran climbed out of one and Tim climbed out of the other.

"We thought that it'd be a good idea to have our legal counsel with us too,"

"Good idea," Gloria nodded. "Are we ready?"

"As we'll ever be," Derek said as Ryan took hold of his hand tightly as the group made their way towards the front door.

* * *

Kirsten Cohen was in the kitchen making sure all the snacks were set out as Sandy and Seth just watched her from the corner. She had received a call last night about setting up a meeting between all parties. Sandy and Seth had arrived earlier that morning and the family had breakfast together for the first time in several weeks. Kirsten was just excited to get to see Ryan in person again. Sandy shook his head as Rosa let in Rachel.

"They should be here soon," she told them.

"Is Ryan's mom ok?" Seth asked.

"She's perfectly fine," Rachel smiled at him.

"Her getting kidnapped just proves that Ryan belongs here with us." Kirsten stated.

"No," Sandy shook his head. "How that team of theirs pulled together to try to locate her proves that they would do anything for family. And that's exactly what Ryan is to them."

"They're here," Rachel said as the doorbell sounded. "I'll get it."

Kirsten stood near the counter where Sandy and Seth were as a group of people filed into the room.

"Sandy, Kirsten, Seth," Rachel started. "You remember Derek and Penelope from court. And they brought Mr. Morgan's mom and step-dad, along with their legal counsel."

"I wasn't aware that this was official," Kirsten spoke up. "Should I call my legal counsel as well?"

"Not at all," Rachel assured her.

"We wanted to be prepared," Penelope spoke up. "And have our families here with us for support."

"Well I have some snacks and refreshments," Kirsten smiled.

"No thank you," Derek said. "I don't even recognize anything."

"Dad," Ryan whispered as he tugged on his arm.

"What is it buddy?" he knelt down in front of him and Ryan whispered something to him. "Of course you can. I can ask if you want."

"No," Ryan shook his head as Derek stood up again. "I'll ask."

"All right," Derek led Ryan to where the Cohen's were standing. "Ryan says that he has a question. For Mrs. Cohen."

"Hi Ryan," Kirsten started forward as Rayn backed up into Derek. "It's so good to see you again."

"I just have one question and then I'll never speak to you ever again," Ryan stated firmly to a shocked Kirsten Cohen.

"It's ok Ryan," Gloria came forward. "Go ahead and ask. We're all here for you."

"Why are you trying to ruin my life?" Ryan stated, shocking everyone into silence.

"We encourage him to speak his mind," Penelope spoke up as the room got silent.

"Seth go ahead and take Ryan into the den," Sandy told him. "Show him your new video game."

"Can I?" Ryan asked. "Am I allowed?"

"Your punishment was over days ago," Derek told him. "Go have some fun while the adults talk."

"I'll go with you," Dave followed the boys. "You can show me how to play."

"Who are you?" Seth asked.

"My grandpa," Ryan told him. "My Nono."

"Ok," Seth led them into the den.

"Why don't we all sit down?" Sandy gestured to the big table and they all got seated around it.

"This is to determine the best environment for Ryan," Rachel stated. "And from that little display, my decision would be for him to remain where he is."

"We can give him anything he wants," Kirsten started.

"But can you give him everything he needs?" Penelope countered.

"What?"

"We have home-cooked meals every night," Derek started. "We help him with his homework if he needs it-not that he needs it most of the time-there is at least one adult home with him every single night; and that doesn't include the hired help, and we listen when he reveals something new about his past life. Can you say any of that?"

"We barely had a couple of months with him," Kirsten tried to defend herself.

"My first meeting with Ryan," Derek spoke up. "I hung out with him for a few hours. He barely talked, but from that little time I found out that he likes to read fantasy novels, he likes sports, and he roots for the underdog because, in his words, they always surprise you."

"You don't even have a home fit for a child," Fran spoke up.

"Excuse me?"

"There's glass everywhere," she stated. "Breakables everywhere you turn. You have a son the same age as Ryan. Boys their age need a chance to be kids. That means that they run through the house and cause mayhem. It's what they're suppose to do."

"Valid point," Gloria said. "Seth may be comfortable just playing video games and reading comic books, but Ryan is a very active kid. He has to be on the move. That's why he was in soccer and why Mr. Morgan has him in karate classes and horseback riding lessons."

"Both of which he wants to do," Derek spoke up.

"Ryan," Rachel spotted him in the doorway watching all of them.

"What's the matter buddy?" Derek looked at him.

"I want a snack," he said softly.

"I'll make you up a plate," Kirsten started up from the table.

"I want a good snack," Ryan stated.

"Here," Penelope opened her bag and pulled out two small boxes of animal crackers. "Make sure you give one to Seth."

"Drinks?" Ryan asked again and Penelope pulled out two juice boxes. "Thanks!"

Ryan ran back into the den and they all heard the video game start up again. Rachel and Gloria watched the exchange and took mental notes.

"Like I said, as of right now-especially after what I just witnessed-I believe that Ryan should remain in the care of Mr. Morgan." Rachel stated.

"Just because his girlfriend had snacks in her purse?" Kirsten asked.

"It's called being prepared," Penelope said.

"I was referring to the fact that Ryan seems uncomfortable around Mrs. Cohen,"

"I agree," Gloria nodded. "Ryan would not thrive in this environment, and he wouldn't be happy either."

"But he is happy in his current home," Tim finally spoke up after just observing for the last several minutes. "May I?"

"Go ahead,"

"All right," Tim opened his bag and pulled out a thick file. "This is everything that Ryan has done since he met Derek."

"We already saw that in court," Mrs. Cohen spoke up.

"You saw a partial file," he told her as he opened it up. "I have here, Ryan's transcript- all A's-letters from all his teachers and his principal praising Derek for all the good work he's done with Ryan, a letter stating that Ryan has been enrolled in the Gifted Learners Program, pictures from outings that they've been on, pictures of him with his best friends…."

"We've seen all this," Kirsten interrupted.

"Then why would you want to take him from being this happy child," Tim produced a picture of Derek, Ryan and Penelope at the zoo. "To being absolutely miserable?"

"He would not be miserable living here,"

"Yes I would," Ryan said from the doorway as he stood with Seth and Dave.

"He wants to say something," Dave told them. "I think he should. It's about his life."

"I agree," Gloria beckoned Ryan forward and he stood in front of her. "So you think you'd be miserable living here?"

"I'd hate it,"

"Tell me why."

"Everyone here is a snob or a bully or both. They were always mean to me. And I hate this house. There's nothing fun to do here and they always ordered take out…" Everyone listened as Ryan rattled off everything that he hated about living in Newport. "That's why I ran away and snuck into a bus. I like Virginia better. No one is fake there. And they make me feel special."

"That's because you are," Fran smiled at him.

"Well I've never had that," Ryan added.

"So if the decision was up to you-if you were given a choice-where would you like to live?"

"I want to stay with my mom and dad," Ryan ran over to Derek and he smiled at him as he lifted him up onto his lap. "Can we go now?"

"Can we?" Derek asked.

"I think I have everything," Gloria told them. "Go and enjoy the sights."

"Ryan said they're going down to the beach," Seth went to his dad. "Can we go?"

"Absolutely," Sandy stood up and took his hand. "We can go now too right?"

"Yes," Rachel told him. "Have fun."

"Finally," Penelope sighed as they all walked outside and climbed into their cars.

"Dad?" Ryan asked as they pulled out of the long driveway.

"What's up buddy?"

"Since we're here-and Chino is only an hour away-do you think-could I see Trey?"

* * *

 **AN:** Another cliffhanger! What'd you all think? PLZ R&R!

I'm going to be trying to work on Stolen Heart for you guys now, but I have been glued to Netflix because I just saw that Season 11 of Criminal Minds has been added. So I've been really involved in it. Anyway, until next time!


	52. Chapter 52: Goodbye Newport

All right, let's try this again. This chapter didn't load the first time I tried to post it. So hopefully it does this time.

* * *

 **AN:** I know that it's been awhile since I last posted on this story but it's been a little hectic for me the last few weeks. This Thursday I start the training at my new job. I am very excited to leave my job of ten years and start a job where I will look forward to going into work each day. And the best part is that I get nights and weekends off.

Sorry for rambling. I hope you enjoy this update. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 52: Goodbye Newport**

Everyone was already at the beach and set up when Derek and Penelope arrived with Ryan. Fran and Dave followed behind them as Tim joined his family. They all stopped as they spotted Sandy Cohen walking with his son Seth down the path to join them.

"It's ok," Derek assured them. "We told Seth that it would be ok if he hung out with Ryan today."

"Kind of like a goodbye," Penelope told them.

"Wyan!" Henry called to him. 'Hewp!"

"Help us build a sand castle!" Jack called.

"Come on," Ryan led Seth down to where the two boys were with Will and Hotch as they attempted to make a sand castle. "This is Jack and Henry, my cousins, and my Uncles Will and Aaron."

"Come join us," Will smiled at Seth. "We're trying to keep this upright, but it's not working very well."

"Hold on," Ryan took one of the plastic buckets and went to the water's edge.

He scooped up a bucket of water and came back to them. He took over the construction as he declared that their castle needed a moat.

"You boys have fun," Hotch got up and dusted off his swim trunks. "But stay where we can see you."

"I'll watch them Uncle Aaron," Ryan told him.

"I know you will," he smiled at him as he joined Derek, who was talking to Sandy Cohen. "So how'd it go?"

"I think it's in our favor," Derek told him.

"I'd say it definitely is," Sandy told them. "I've been trying to convince my wife to drop this for months. She can be just like her father sometimes."

"It's all right," Derek assured him. "Thank you for speaking on Ryan's behalf in court a couple months ago."

"That kid is meant to be with you," Sandy told him. "So….you had to punish Ryan?"

"About a week ago," Derek sighed. "I didn't want to-especially after when I heard what the fight was about-but I know I had to."

"What was the fight about?"

"Some boys at his school found out about his background and brought it up to him. Then they said a derogatory remark about me-one I've heard my whole life."

"I think I know what you're talking about," Sandy nodded.

"It ended with the strings on Ryan's guitar getting cut-one of the boys had a knife."

"And you punished him for that?"

"He admitted to attacking those boys. We don't want him to think that it's ok to start fights."

"Yeah," Sandy sighed. "Being a PD, I see the end result when it's way too late to save them."

"Speaking of," Derek turned to his boss. "In the car on the way here, Ryan asked if we could take him to see his brother, Trey."

"What'd you tell him?"

"I told him we'd think about it, but I'm not even sure if they'll let anyone his age into juvie. He did say that he just wants Trey to know that he's ok."

"I'll make some calls," Hotch took out his phone.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea," Sandy looked at Derek as they watched Penelope and the boys start to go into the water. "But the kid deserves some closure on that part of his life."

* * *

Penelope looked over at Derek as they drove into the city limits of Chino. She glanced back at Ryan as he watched out the window. He had no emotion as they passed by all the sights that he remembered. Derek slowed down and pulled into the parking lot of the Chino Juvenile Detention Center. They all climbed out of the car as Hotch pulled up beside them.

"I will talk to the warden first," Hotch told them. "I'm not even sure if we'll be able to get in to see him today."

"Thank you for trying at least," Derek told him as the group made their way inside.

Derek, Penelope and Ryan sat in a row of chairs as Hotch went into the warden's office. Derek watched Ryan for any sign or reaction of being in this place.

"What's going on kid?" Derek looked at him.

"Trey will hate me," he mumbled.

"Why do you think that?"

"I'm betraying Frank and Dawn."

"How do you figure that?" Penelope looked at him.

"I'm happy. I'm calling you mom and dad. I have a new family. Trey's not a part of it."

"As your brother, Trey should be happy for you." Derek pulled him to sit on his lap. "You were able to get out of this life that probably would've led you to one of these places."

"But what if he's not happy for me?"

"Then I will get us out of here-"

"Derek," they all looked up as they saw Hotch approaching them. "Ryan can see Trey, but since he's a minor he needs to have an adult with him."

"I'll go with him," Derek stated. "But I would like to talk to him one-on-one first. Is that ok buddy?"

"Yeah," Ryan said softly.

"We'll be right here waiting," Penelope assured him as she held Ryan to her and Derek followed Hotch down the hall.

* * *

Derek walked into the visitor's room once the warden unlocked the door. His focus locked on a teenager with dirty blond hair sitting away from everybody else. He had the same guarded look that Ryan had when he first met him.

"Trey Atwood?" he approached the table he was sitting at.

"Who wants to know?" he glared up at him.

"My name is Derek Morgan. I am an agent with the FBI out of Quantico, Virginia."

"Yeah, so?"

"I am also your brother Ryan's foster dad, and hopefully soon I will be adoptive father."

"R-Ry?" Trey stuttered. "Is he ok?"

"He's out in the hall waiting to see you," Derek leaned down on the table in front of him. "I will only let him come in here with the understanding that you will not upset him. He already thinks that you're going to be mad at him."

"Why would I be mad at him?"

"Because he's living the life that you can only imagine."

"I'm glad he's out of this life. He's the smart one. He'll be able to leave it all behind."

"So I'm going to send him in," Derek stood upright again. "But I won't be far."

Derek walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later holding Ryan's hand and they slowly approached Trey.

"Ry,"

"Hi Trey," he said softly before running towards him and hugging him tightly.

* * *

While Hotch was accompanying Derek, Penelope and Ryan to Chino, everyone else was deciding where to get lunch after Sandy and Seth took them on a small tour of their favorite places to go. They walked along the beach and decided to stop at the Crab Shack. They all walked in and took up several booths as the waiter came to take their orders.

Seth was showing Jack and Henry how to run the jukebox when the door opened and a group of kids came in.

"Hey Fag," one taunted as Will was coming up to the boys.

"If you would refrain from using that kind of language around my son, I would appreciate it." Will picked up Henry.

"Who are they?" Emily turned to watch what was happening.

"Luke Ward and his followers," Sandy sighed as he started to get up.

"We've heard about him a few times," Dave got up to follow behind him.

"What's going on?" the door opened again and Derek, Penelope and Hotch came in with Ryan.

"Meet Luke Ward and his minions," Dave told him.

"What did they do?" Ryan demanded as he went to Jack.

"Look, the gutter trash is back." Luke taunted, not bothered by the group of adults.

"You better back off my kid," Derek stated. "I don't care who you are and what you think you're entitled to just because your parents can get you whatever you ask for."

"What's going on?" a couple approached the group. "Luke, what are you up to now?"

"Your son and his friends are bothering my son and his friends," Derek looked at the couple. "Ryan lived here a few months ago and is in town visiting his friend."

"We told you that if we found out that you were bullying Seth Cohen again that there would be consequences. So say goodbye to going to the lake this weekend."

"That's not fair!"

"Keep it up and you can say goodbye to your bike for the next month." Ryan smirked at Luke's retreating form as his parents dragged him and his friends out.

"Come on," Ryan led Jack over to everyone else as Will followed with Henry and Seth followed behind them.

"So how'd it go?" Dave asked.

"He got to see Trey," Derek told him.

"They got to catch up," Penelope added. "And they said their goodbyes since they won't be able to see each other for awhile."

"At least they got to see each other," they all walked over to join everyone else, none of them noticing the figure watching the big group in yearning from outside the restaurant.

* * *

Seth and Sandy walked out of the hotel as they spotted a familiar SUV waiting for them. Sandy opened the back door for Seth to climb in and he smiled as he saw Derek behind the wheel and Dave sitting in the back.

"Ready to get to school?" Derek smiled at him.

"You're taking me to school?" Seth asked.

"Ryan came up with an idea last night. A way that might help you get picked on less. Your dad agreed to it."

"As long as you're buckled in securely." Sandy added as he climbed into the front passenger seat.

"I'm in!" Seth buckled as they pulled away from the hotel. "Where's Ryan?"

"He's with Penelope back at our hotel. Today is the first day of his exams," Derek told him. "Most of his schoolwork is online so the principal agreed to let him take today's exams online. We'll be heading back to Virginia in a few hours."

"Already?" Seth asked quietly.

"This won't be the end of your guys' friendship. You guys can video chat all the time. We'll call tonight after we get back home."

"Cool,"

"Ok, here we go. Everyone hang on!" Derek turned on the flashing lights and sirens and sped up as if they were in a high speed chase.

Dave held Seth in place as Derek weaved in and out of the heavy morning traffic. He came to an abrupt stop by the curb in front of Seth's school.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Seth said as Sandy got out to let Seth out.

"Talk to you soon kid!" Derek called as he spotted the group of kids standing around watching them and raised his voice a little so they could all hear what he was saying. "And hey! Let me know if anymore kids bother you! They'll have me and the rest of the FBI to deal with!"

"Bye!" Seth smiled and ran off into the school.

"You just made his day," Sandy told him as they pulled away from the school.

"Like I said, it was Ryan's idea." Derek said as they pulled into traffic again.

"Do you guys have some time?" Sandy looked at them. "I want to show you something. You'll definitely want to see it."

"We have a couple hours before we have to be at the air strip." Derek told him.

"Turn in here," Sandy pointed. "And it's the third one in."

Derek slowed down and pulled into the storage facility. He parked by the third door and Sandy climbed out as he pulled out a set of keys. Derek and Dave climbed out in confusion as Sandy pulled up the door and they saw the space packed with toys and boxes.

"What is all this?" Derek asked.

"This is all of Ryan's things," Sandy told him. "Some of it is probably Trey's, but it belongs to Ryan now."

"I'm confused,"

"After the drug bust, the bank took possession of the house. I collected everything that I could salvage and put it in here. There's some pictures too. It's all yours now."

"Are you sure you don't want to keep some of it?" Dave asked him.

"You're Ryan's family now. It's yours."

"Well...Thank you."

* * *

A few hours later, Derek pulled up to the air strip where everyone was just starting to board. Dave helped him start to carry some of the boxes onto the jet as they spotted Penelope sitting in one corner of the plane with Ryan fast asleep beside her.

"How long has he been out?" Derek asked her.

"He just fell asleep," she told him. "What is all that?"

"Memories from Ryan's childhood," he told her. "Sandy Cohen has been saving it and he gave it all to us to have."

"Really?" she smiled as she saw everyone carrying boxes onto the jet and going into the back cabin with them.

"Look at this," Derek sat down beside her and handed her a baby picture. "That's a picture of Ryan in the hospital after he was born."

"Oh my gosh," she gushed over the picture. "No offense, but Dawn doesn't seem like the maternal type."

"Oh she's not," he agreed. "Dawn's mother-Ryan's grandmother-took all kinds of pictures of Ryan and Trey growing up. She wanted them to have memories worth keeping."

"Where is she now? She's not-going to come out of the word work-"

"She died a few years ago," Derek told her. "Ryan was pretty upset when it happened. I guess he and Trey spent a lot of time at her house. After she died, Dawn spiraled even more."

"I'm glad he's not with that woman anymore," Penelope sighed. "He's much better off with us."

"I agree," Derek smiled as he saw Ryan start to stir. "Hey buddy."

"Dad?" he rubbed his eyes. "Did Seth like his surprise?"

"He did. I told him we'd video call him tonight." Ryan nodded as he spotted the picture that Penelope was holding. "What's that?"

"Apparently it's you when you were a baby," Penelope showed it to him.

"Sandy kept all the things from your house all these months," Derek told him. "He let us have it all."

"He did?"

"It's all in the back cabin. When we get back home, we can go through it all."

"Ok," Ryan said softly as he curled up against him.

Derek smiled as Ryan drifted off again as the jet took off. In a few weeks, it would be Christmas. He planned on making it the best Christmas that Ryan has ever experienced. And hopefully a few weeks after the holidays they would be getting the good news that Ryan would be staying with them permanently.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!


	53. Chapter 53: Holiday Insecurities

_**AN:** I am soooo sorry everyone. I know that it has been several months since I posted anything to either of my stories. I got my dream job several months ago which made me very happy. But I didn't consider that my dream job would keep me busy outside of my work hours, leaving me with practically no "me" time. I love my job and I still love writing and sharing my work with all of you. It just might be long stretches between updates. But I hope that you guys will stick with me. Thank you! PLZ R &R!_

 ** _Disclaimer:_** _See first chapter._

* * *

 **Chapter 53: Holiday Insecurities**

The next few weeks went by fast and before they knew it, Christmas was just a few days away. Penelope spent all that time trying to locate all her decorations and buying new ones to decorate the house with. Ryan was apprehensive about the whole subject of Christmas, but they were all determined to give him the best Christmas ever.

Derek and Penelope were determined to spoil him as well with all the presents they had stashed away at Dave and Fran's. Every time they made a 'quick trip' to the store, they always came back with more things for Ryan. Derek had finally given in and told Dave that he could get Ryan a 4-wheeler as long as he and Penelope were the ones to give him a bike.

Ryan was on winter break from school now. On his last day before the break, they had all gone to watch his class' performance of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Ryan was right; he had no lines but the entire team showed up to see and support him.

* * *

Derek turned over in bed as he felt movement beside him. His eyes shot open as a bright light invaded his vision before he heard a high-pitched squeal of delight.

"Hot Stuff, wake up!"

"What's going on?" he turned over and glanced at the clock. "Baby it's too early."

"But guess what?"

"What?" he mumbled from under the covers that he had just pulled over his head to block out the bright light from the open curtains.

"It's snowing!"

"Great," he mumbled.

"At least pretend to be more excited," she pulled the covers off of him.

"I will be more excited when you let me get some more sleep,"

"But it's Ryan's first snow day!" she tried to pull him out of bed. "He'll be so excited!"

"It's the first day of his winter break," he slowly sat up. "Don't you think that he would want to sleep in? Don't you think-"

"Mom! Dad!" the door burst open and Ryan ran into them. "Did you see? Did you look outside? It's snowing! Can we go out?"

"You were saying?" Penelope looked back at Derek.

"All right," he sighed. "I'll take a shower real quick if you put on some coffee. Then we'll all have some breakfast before going out and building a snowman."

"Yes!" Ryan cheered as he followed Penelope from the room.

A little while later, Derek descended the stairs and saw Ryan setting some plates out on the table as Penelope finished making breakfast. He smiled like he always did as he passed the rows of pictures that depicted Ryan growing up.

Once they got back from California, Derek and Penelope immediately sat down with Ryan and went through all the boxes that Sandy Cohen had given them. Ryan kept a few of his old toys and Derek made sure they kept some trophies that Ryan had received and awards he had gotten in school.

Fran and Penelope worked on the photo albums together; they knew they weren't completely accurate, but it was a good enough guess to get them in chronological order. They kept a few pictures out-Ryan as a baby, school pictures and a few others-and put them in frames that they hung up all around the house.

"That smells amazing, Baby Girl." Derek smiled at her as he came up behind her.

"It's all ready," she smiled back at him. "Help your son finish setting the table."

"As you wish Princess," he told her as he grabbed the glasses and took them over to the table.

"And here we go," Penelope brought several platters of pancakes over. "I made some plain, and there are also chocolate chip and blueberry."

"I think I'm going to have one of each," Derek stated.

"Me too!" Ryan added as he took his share.

After they all had their fill of the big breakfast, they all cleaned up and started to get all bundled up to spend the next few hours outside in the snow. Derek went to the hall closet to break out the new winter gear that they had gotten to be prepared.

"All right kid," Derek looked at Ryan. "Before we do this, do you have to use the bathroom?"

"Nope," he shook his head.

"Are you absolutely sure? I will not be going through this multiple times."

"Yes you will," Penelope came back into the room. "It's all part of being a parent."

"Let's do this," Ryan pulled on the snow pants and started lacing up his insulated snow boots.

The family made their way outside, where Derek proceeded to show Ryan how to roll snowballs to make them bigger for their snowman. Penelope started snapping pictures of them with her phone as they made the snowman and Clooney jumped and ran all around them.

Fran and Dave pulled in as the family of three-four if you counted Clooney-were trying to throw snowballs at each other. They laughed as they saw Derek get hit in the back by Penelope when he was distracted by trying to get Ryan. Ryan immediately went to his mom when he saw his dad trying to retaliate.

"You can't get mom," Ryan defended. "She controls the hot chocolate."

"That's right," Penelope smiled. "I also control other things."

"Seriously!" Ryan covered his ears. "Stop it with the innuendos."

"You should hear them at work kid," Dave announced their presence.

"Nana! Nono!" Ryan ran to them and hugged them tightly.

"Are you having fun little one?" Fran smiled at him.

"Uh-huh, come see our snowman," Ryan led her over to the middle of the yard.

"So we were going to head down to the forest and get some Christmas trees," Dave looked at Derek. "Do you think the kid will be up for it?"

"I'm not sure," Derek glanced back at Ryan with Fran and Penelope. "Every time we bring up the holidays, he just shuts down."

"Well I invited everyone. Maybe if Jack and Henry are there too, he might be more open to everything."

"We can try,"

* * *

Derek slowly drove down the winding dirt path that would lead them to the forest where everyone else was meeting them. Penelope was fiddling with the radio trying to find some Christmas music. They both took turns glancing at the broody child in the backseat. After they all headed inside to get warmed up after their morning spent outside, Derek told them what Dave had suggested. Penelope was immediately excited, but Ryan shut down into himself and hadn't spoken a word to them since.

"All right, we're here!" Derek announced as he came to a stop and parked behind Dave's car. "Are we ready?"

"I am," Penelope smiled.

"Of course you are," Derek smiled at her.

"I'll just stay in the car," they heard a grumble from the back seat.

"No can do kid," Derek turned around to look at him. "This is a family tradition. We do this every year."

"But-"

"What's going on?" Penelope looked back at him. "Why don't you want to do this?"

"Christmas was always a let-down," Ryan mumbled.

"Can you at least try? For us?"

"And if you can't," Derek started. "At least put on a brave face. For Jack and Henry's sake?"

"Fine," Ryan sighed as they all climbed out of the car and went to join the group.

Reid saw Ryan coming and intercepted him before anyone else could talk to him. He gave Derek and Penelope a reassuring smile and they nodded in understanding as they watched Reid lead Ryan away from everyone else.

"What do you think of this one?" Reid pointed to the tall spruce before them.

"This is all just so stupid," Ryan mumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"Christmas is just a waste of time and money,"

"I'm guessing that you heard someone say that a lot," Reid looked at him. "And I'm thinking that it was either Dawn or Frank."

"Both," Ryan admitted.

"Christmases weren't always the best for me either," Reid told him.

"They weren't?"

"My mom wasn't hospitalized until I was eighteen and I could legally get her the help she needed. She never took her medication and sometimes she didn't even remember that she had a kid or she thought I was an imposter."

"That kind of sounds like Dawn," Ryan said softly. "She was bad around the holidays. She got worse when Frank was sent to prison."

"I understand that you need to keep your guard up because you think that you're going to get hurt," Reid told him. "But you are now living with someone who takes the holidays to the extreme."

"Penelope?"

"Derek just agrees to go along with whatever she plans. Your plans for the next couple of weeks will be filled with decorating, wrapping presents, baking, and any other holiday activity that she can come up with."

"So you're saying that I should just surrender?"

"At least let them have their way," Reid glanced at Derek and Penelope talking with Fran and Dave. "It could be a whole lot worse for you."

"Worse how?"

"Your mom is all about technology. She is a member of every single social media outlet that you can think of and then some. If you don't give in now, she will be on Pinterest as soon as you get home looking for suggestions of what to do to get you involved in everything."

"Ok, I get it." Ryan sighed deeply. "I can try."

"That would be perfect," Dave came up to the pair.

"That'll look great in the living room," Fran smiled up at the spruce tree before them. "I can picture all of us standing around it on Christmas Eve."

"We all go to their house Christmas Eve," Reid said after seeing Ryan's confused expression. "We always have a good time."

"Oh, right." Ryan shrugged as he walked away to find Jack and Henry.

"I think I got through to him," Reid looked at Fran and Dave.

"Thank you for trying, Spencer." Fran smiled at him.

* * *

A few hours later, Derek was setting up the tree in their living room after they did some rearranging with the furniture. Ryan had been in his room since they arrived and they didn't want to force him out of the room. Fortunately, Penelope knew a few things that would entice him to come downstairs to join them.

Penelope set up a punch bowl on the counter filled with warm cider as she placed some warm, oven-baked cookies on a platter beside it. Derek was trying to untangle the lights while Penelope was going through their ornaments and decorations. They looked up as they heard a noise and smiled at Ryan slowly coming down the stairs.

"Hey kid," Derek smiled at him. "Are you going to join us?"

"I was just going to get a cookie," he mumbled.

"You can get a cookie, but we'd like you to join us too."

"You can help me pick out which ornaments should go on the tree," Penelope told him. "And which displays we should put up."

"How'd you get those?" Ryan saw the familiar Santa made out of a toilet paper roll and a clothespin Rudolph.

"I found them with the boxes of things that Mr. Cohen gave us." she smiled at him as she brought out a plastic bag. "And I thought we could get your collection started as well."

Ryan opened the bag from one of the stores in town and pulled out three ornaments. One was a snow-covered hot wheel car, another was of the ninja turtles, and the last one was a round ornament decorated with a hat and a face painted on the front and his name and birthdate painted on the back.

"You didn't have to-" Ryan started.

"It's Christmas," Derek interrupted. "It's a tradition that everyone gets a new ornament to put on the tree."

"But-"

"We don't care what happened in your former life," Penelope told him. "This right here is your future. If nothing else, at least just do this with us. I don't care if you do nothing else with us."

"Yeah right," Ryan mumbled.

"We would love it if you joined in with everything," Derek smiled at him. "But there is no pressure for you to do anything that you don't want to."

"I can't make any promises," Ryan looked at them. "But I can try."

"That is all we ask."

"And it is absolutely all right with us if you don't want to do something."

"Thank you," Ryan said softly.

"Now what do you say you help us decorate this tree?" Penelope smiled at him.

"And you can put the star on top," Derek added. "With my help."

"Ok," Ryan slowly got off the couch and followed them to where the tree was.

* * *

They all went to bed early that night, exhausted from the day's events. Penelope woke up in the middle of the night needing a drink of water. She slowly walked down the stairs and smiled at the soft light that was coming from the tree. She quickly got her drink and just stood looking at the tree and how it lit up the whole room.

That's when she noticed something-or someone-on the couch. She rushed back upstairs and came back down a few minutes later with a sleepy Derek in tow.

"What is this about Baby Girl?" he yawned.

"You need to see something," she led him into the living room.

"What-"

"Just look," she pointed to the couch and his gaze followed.

There on the couch, curled up underneath one of Penelope's Christmas blankets, was Ryan fast asleep. Clooney was curled up at his feet as they both slept. It was obvious to both Derek and Penelope that Ryan had come down and fallen asleep watching the lights from the Christmas tree.

Derek went to go pull the blanket up over him more before taking Penelope's hand and heading back upstairs. They both looked back at the sight one last time before heading back to their room. Maybe this Christmas wouldn't be a lost cause for them. Maybe Ryan really was open to joining his new family in all of the festivities.

* * *

 _ **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope it makes up for the long wait. I will be continuing to work on this story along with my other story Stolen Heart. It just might mean long stretches between updates. And Happy Thanksgiving to you all! PLZ R&R!_


	54. Chapter 54: Christmas Wish

**AN:** Sorry once again for the long wait. I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I am feeling so honored right now. I just found out that Dreaming Of Home has been nominated for the Profilers Choice Awards for Best Crossover and Best Drama. I am so honored that you all enjoy this story that much and would like to thank you all for the continued support, awesome reviews, and kind words that you leave in my inbox. They all make my day. I am so thankful that I can share my talent with all of you when I don't even feel comfortable sharing it with my family and friends yet.

Anyway, sorry for rambling! PLZ R&R!

* * *

 **Chapter 54: Christmas Wish**

As the days went by, Ryan slowly opened himself up to the idea of joining in with everyone in celebrating Christmas. No one wanted to pressure him and end up pushing him away so they all just went about their normal routine. Eventually, Ryan slowly joined in with the activities, baking and crafts that they all were doing. When Derek and Penelope found out that there would be an appearance by Santa at the mall, they asked Ryan if he would want to go. His response surprised them, telling them that he wouldn't mind going with them.

"Do we have everything?" Derek scanned their bags as they finished packing up their bags to spend a few days at his mom's house.

"I think so," Penelope placed their stockings on the top of her suitcase and zipped it up. "Ryan! How's it going?"

"Done," Ryan dragged his bag down to them where they had made a big pile by the front door. "Oh wait, my blanket."

"I have your blanket!" Derek called as Ryan ran back upstairs.

"I want to take the one that mom just got me too!" Ryan came back down with the white blanket that was covered in red and green striped candy canes.

"So we're ready?" Derek started to take a couple bags out to the car.

"There's a few more things we need to take," Penelope grabbed a couple grocery bags off the kitchen counter. "Me and my little men will be doing some baking and decorating."

"As you wish Princess," Derek smiled at her as he grabbed the last few bags.

Clooney followed the family out to the car and jumped in after Ryan as they all loaded into it. Derek pulled out of the driveway and slowly started to drive down the slick roads.

"It's getting very slippery out here," Derek commented.

"Maybe we'll have a very white Christmas this year," Penelope smiled. "Last year, it was all almost melted by the time we got up Christmas morning."

"Maybe you'll get your Christmas wish," Derek smiled at her.

"Just take it easy," Penelope glanced back at Ryan who was watching out his window as all the snow fell all around them. "Go slowly please."

"We're almost there," Derek told her as he turned down his mom's street.

Derek pulled to a stop behind everyone else's cars and they all climbed out and started to unload everything. The door opened and Dave and Hotch came out to help them bring everything in. Clooney followed Ryan through the snow as he made his way to the door with his things.

"You couldn't have used the walkway that isn't covered in snow?" Dave called.

"No!" Ryan called back as he made it inside.

"Your Nana won't be happy when she sees the wet trail all over her freshly mopped floors!"

"Yeah right," Derek mumbled as Penelope tried not to laugh.

"What?" Dave looked at his step-son.

"You two have never been able to punish him," Derek told him. "He tends to get out of any potential trouble."

"I'm guilty of that when he spends the night at my house," Hotch spoke up. "As is JJ and Will I'm sure."

"It's the cuteness factor," Dave told them.

"He uses that against all of us," Derek told them.

"And your mother doesn't like to be too harsh with him; especially since we know all the details about his background."

"We struggle to punish him too," Penelope cut in. "But we try to push past it."

They all made their way inside and saw Ryan, Jack and Henry sitting at the table drinking hot cocoa out of mugs and eating freshly-made chocolate chip cookies.

"You're right," Derek looked back at Dave. "She really let him have it."

"She punished him with cocoa and cookies," Penelope smiled. "He'll never do that again, I'm sure."

"All right, enough." Dave smiled at them. "Your rooms are all ready for you upstairs."

"We should start getting settled in up there," Derek followed Penelope upstairs and they started to unpack their things.

Penelope came back downstairs after getting everything set up in their room. She had their stockings with her and Dave took them to hang them up by the tree. She walked back to the kitchen and saw Fran organizing all her baking ingredients for later.

"Sarah," Penelope smiled at her future sister-in-law. "When did you get here?"

"About ten minutes ago," Sarah hugged her tightly. "How are you? I haven't seen you since everything happened in California."

"Better. I'm opening up a lot more. Which is strange for me. But my therapist assures me that it will be good for me in the long run."

"Therapist?"

"Mandatory if I want to keep my job, which I do." Penelope sighed. "So is Desiree here too?"

"She's still getting settled in," Sarah saw her brother come into them. "And I'm sure Spencer is helping her."

"Stop," Penelope grabbed Derek from going back upstairs. "They are grown adults. Leave them be."

"And Sarah, stop riling up your brother." Fran scolded.

"But it's so much fun," she smirked at him as the doorbell rang.

"Why don't you get the door, Baby Boy." Fran looked at her son and he grumbled as he walked away.

"It's just too easy," Sarah stated and Penelope chuckled.

"Hey Baby Girl!" Derek called. "It's for you!"

"What-" she went to join him at the door and smiled as she saw some familiar faces staring back at her.

"You're here?"

"Hey sis," Mitchell smiled at her.

"What are you all doing here?" she hugged them.

"Dave called us about a week ago," Tim told her. "Invited us all to stay here over the holidays."

"He said that he had more than enough room for all of us," Michael added.

"We immediately agreed," Joe told her as they were followed in by their wives and kids.

"Ryan, come see who's here!" Derek called.

"You came!" Ryan ran to his aunts and uncles and Tim lifted him up.

"We told you we would," Mitchell smiled at him. "And I don't break my promises anymore."

"Come on in," Dave came out to them. "I'll take you up to get settled."

"So what's the plan for today?" Emily came in.

"Once everyone gets settled in, we had planned to go to the mall." Derek told them. "Santa is supposed to be up there."

"And Ryan wants to go?" JJ asked

"He said he wanted to join us," Penelope told them. "We are not going to put any pressure on him though. We don't want to force him."

"Probably a good idea,"

* * *

A few hours later after everyone was settled in, they all loaded into the cars and made their way to the nearby mall so the adults could finish some last-minute shopping and so the younger kids could see Santa. All the older kids were warned not to ruin anything for the younger ones.

"We need to go to the art store," Penelope whispered as they were all waiting in line to see Santa.

"We'll try to get away for a bit." Derek assured her.

"We're almost to the front," Ryan said softly.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," Derek told him.

"I want to," Ryan told him.

"Are you sure?" Penelope asked and he nodded.

"Can I talk to him by myself?" Ryan looked at them.

"Of course buddy," Derek smiled as they inched closer to the front.

When it was Ryan's turn, Derek and Penelope stood off to the side and watched as one of the Elf workers led him to Santa and helped him onto his lap.

"And what can Santa bring for you for Christmas?"

"I'm not sure if you can get me this," Ryan said softly.

"Why don't you tell me what it is and I'll see what I can do," Santa looked at him.

"I want to be adopted," Ryan said softly. "I want to stay with Derek and Penelope-my mom and dad. But someone else took them to court because they want me too. I want to stay where I am. I'm happy here. I wouldn't be with the other people. I really want to be adopted."

"It sounds like you're really happy where you are right now,"

"They treat me like their kid even though I'm not really. That's why I've been calling them mom and dad for a long time now."

"I think you'll be getting your wish, young man."

"Really? You think I'll get adopted by Christmas?"

"I know," Santa smiled down at him, a twinkle in his eyes. "Santa always knows."

"That's a good one," Penelope showed Derek the picture she had just taken.

It showed Ryan on Santa's lap smiling ear to ear as he finished telling him what he wanted for Christmas.

"I'd say he's definitely opening himself up to everything," Derek smiled as Ryan ran back to them and they waited for Jack and Henry to take their turns.

"So what'd you tell Santa that you wanted?" Penelope asked him.

"I can't tell you," Ryan shook his head. "But he says I'll get it."

"I'm sure you will,"

"Can I take Ryan to the sporting goods store?" Tanner came up to them as Hotch and Emily joined them along with Will and JJ with the boys. "I want to show him something."

"We actually have some things to get," Derek said. "It's fine with me if he wants to go with you."

"Yeah!" Ryan ran to his older cousin. "Let's go!"

"Let's meet up in the food court in a couple hours so we can all get some lunch."

"Got it!" Tanner called. "My cell phone will be on if you need me."

"All right, to the art store." Derek said. "Hopefully Ryan's gift is in by now."

"Let's go," Penelope smiled as the big group went their separate ways.

* * *

They all returned to Fran and Dave's with a few more purchases. Derek ended up getting a few more things than he wanted to, but Tanner told him that Ryan really liked something in the sporting goods store. So he of course had to go back and get it while Ryan was occupied with everyone else.

Ryan's big gift from the art store had finally come in so he and Penelope had to be very creative in the way that they tried to hide it from him. Thankfully as soon as they arrived home, Dave helped him get it into the garage to store until Christmas.

Derek took Penelope's hand as they walked back into the kitchen to see all of the kids getting ready to help make cut-out cookies. It was shaping up to be a pretty good Christmas this year. Hopefully it would continue to be and Ryan would open himself up for the rest of the festivities that they had planned for the next several days.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. Do you think Ryan will get his wish? PLZ R&R!


	55. Chapter 55: Christmas Eve

**AN:** I am so so so so so sorry you guys! I know that it's been such a long time since I last posted to this. Life happened and I got a slight case of writer's block. But I am very determined to finish this story for all of you. Just try to be patient with me. And thank you for being such loyal fans of this story and sticking with me.

PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 55: Christmas Eve**

Derek slowly resurfaced as he felt a weight on his chest. He opened his eyes and looked down as he saw Ryan fast asleep on top of him as Penelope was snuggled up against him fast asleep. He smiled at his family and just enjoyed the silence of the morning. He knew all the chaos would start up again soon.

Sure enough, right on cue, a few moments later the door burst open and Jack and Henry ran in followed by a few of Penelope's nephews and nieces.

"Wake up!" Jazzlyn shook them.

"What is going on?" Derek looked at them as Ryan sat up and Penelope slowly awoke. "I would expect this on Christmas morning, but it's not."

"It's Christmas Eve though," Tanner told him. "There's lots of stuff planned."

"And we need to start early," Hannah told them.

"Plus it snowed a lot during the night," Skylar told them. "That means sledding and snowball fights."

"After breakfast," Dave came in. "Chocolate chip pancakes are waiting for you all downstairs."

"We're coming," Penelope sat up. "Just give us a minute."

"Take all the time you need," Dave ushered all the kids out as the three of them started to climb out of bed.

"What do we do on Christmas Eve?" Ryan asked as he climbed off the bed.

"Lots of things," Derek told him.

"Like what?" Ryan looked at them.

"Well first we'll have breakfast," Penelope told him. "Then we'll get all bundled up and go outside for some sledding."

"I've never gone sledding before," Ryan told them.

"That's all right," Derek assured him. "It's lots of fun."

The three of them started to get ready and headed downstairs to join everyone else. They got to the kitchen as Fran and the girls were just finishing up their breakfast. They carried it all out to the dining room, where Dave and the guys had pulled out another long table from their storage so everyone would have a place to sit down and eat.

Ryan immediately claimed the seat next to Tanner so he could continue to tell him about the soccer camp that he would be attending over the summer. Derek and Penelope sat by Reid and Desiree as Fran brought some orange juice out for everyone.

"So...we're going sledding right?" Jazzlynn asked the table.

"Of course you are," Dave told her. "We have a big hill behind the house that you can use."

"And we have plenty of extra sleds and toboggans that you can borrow," Fran added.

"Awesome!" Daniel cheered as all the kids started to chow down their breakfast as fast as they could.

"Slow down everyone!" Fran stated. "The backyard full of the snow mountains are not going anywhere."

A little while later, everyone finished their breakfasts and started to take all the dirty dishes into the kitchen. All the kids rushed upstairs to get bundled up for outside as Fran and Sarah loaded up the dishwasher.

"I am so glad you have one of these Ma," Sarah looked at her. "Can you imagine doing all these dishes by hand?"

"So lucky that I don't have to," Fran smiled as she spotted her husband coming back into them all bundled up in his winter gear.

"We're all heading out," he announced. "Even Reid said he'd try sledding with us."

"After Ryan gave him his puppy dog eyes?" Sarah asked.

"And Desiree talked him into it," Dave chuckled.

"Come on!" Ryan ran down the stairs bundled in his thermal jacket and insulated snow boots and had his scarf, hat and gloves already on. "Everyone is on their way down."

"Right behind you kiddo," Dave smiled at him.

"You just make sure to keep my grandkids safe out there," Fran warned him.

"They are all in good hands," Dave assured her as everyone started outside.

Ryan stayed close to Derek and Penelope as they both got out all the extra sleds for everyone.

"Are you going to join us, Baby Girl?" Derek looked back at her.

"I have assigned myself the official video and picture taker," she told him. "But you two have fun."

"Just one ride, Baby Girl."

"Come on, mom. Please?" Ryan looked at her.

"You conspired with him," Penelope glared at Derek.

"Maybe," he smiled at her. "Come on. Just one ride."

"Fine," she sighed as Derek got the sled positioned.

Derek climbed on first to hold it steady for the other two; Penelope got on next and clung to Derek tightly as she helped Ryan get on.

"Can we go now?" Ryan asked

"One moment," Derek made sure that they were all sitting securely on the sled before pushing off from the top of the hill.

They all screamed the whole way to the bottom of the ravine and Ryan laughed as they all tumbled out when it came to a stop.

"That was fun!" Ryan shook all the snow off him. "Let's do it again!"

"That was it for me thanks," Penelope told them as they started climbing up the hill again. "I will stick to getting this magical day on camera."

They all spent the next several hours going up and down the huge hill on their sleds and toboggans. Penelope took several pictures and captured many videos of the day that she could relive over and over. They all decided to head back inside to warm up when Dave said that it was past lunchtime.

"There you all are," Fran smiled over at them all as she stirred a big pot on the stove. "I was just about ready to call out to all of you."

"Time got away from us Bella," Dave went up to her and kissed her cheek.

"What'd you make, Nana?" Ryan ran up to her.

"Something to warm you all up," she smiled at him. "Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup."

"I love that,"

"You all go get changed and cleaned up and I'll start setting it all out. It'll be ready when you come back down."

They all started up the stairs and started to get changed into some warmer clothes. When everyone came back downstairs, the tables were set up with big platters of grilled cheese sandwiches and two big pots of tomato soup. All the plates, bowls, glasses and silverware were set up at each setting as Sarah brought out big pitchers of lemonade for all of them.

"This one was a good shot," Penelope was showing Fran and Sarah some of the photos and videos that she had taken of everyone sledding.

"That's a great one of Spencer and Desiree," Fran started to whisper. "Print it out for me."

"I'll frame it for you too," Penelope smiled at her as everyone sat down at the tables to enjoy the delicious meal that was prepared for them.

* * *

After they all cleaned up after they finished lunch, Penelope and Fran setup the tables and counters to start making the gingerbread houses. Ryan, Jack and Henry situated themselves at one table as Penelope's nieces and nephews took up seats at the other tables. Penelope and Fran helped them all set up the houses and decorate them as Sarah and Desiree started to make up some more cookie batter.

* * *

Derek took another armful of bags into his mom and Dave's bedroom and dropped it onto the bed. Hotch came in behind him and dropped his own handful down. Dave came in with several yards of wrapping paper, ribbon, tape and other embellishments.

"Jeez Morgan," Will came in with JJ as they carried Henry's presents in to be wrapped. "Do you think you got him enough?"

"Not all me," Derek looked at Dave.

"Guilty," Dave smiled. "The kid deserves it."

"Has he ever had a traditional Christmas before?" Hotch asked.

"None that he's offered to share," Derek started to sort through the presents. "The bike is still in the garage right?"

"It's safe as can be," Dave assured him.

"That's a lot of art supplies," Emily came in with Reid as Derek picked up a deluxe art kit to start wrapping.

"The kid has a talent," Derek told them. "And he's still trying to come up with selections to choose for the competition coming up."

"And I'm guessing the tablet was Garcia's idea?" Reid asked.

"Of course," Derek smiled. "But the PSP was my idea."

"There isn't going to be anything left to get him next year," JJ commented.

"You're one to talk," Derek spotted their big pile of presents for Henry.

"He has us there," Will looked at his fiance.

"This bag is for his stocking," Derek set it to the side. "This we'll need to put together after they're all asleep tonight."

"Coming through," the door opened and Tim came in with a handful of presents, followed by his brothers carrying their own bundles of presents. "We heard this was the gift wrapping room."

"Come on in," Dave told them. "Hopefully we can get these all wrapped by the morning. How early do your kids wake up on Christmas morning?"

"Early," Michael commented. "So we need to work fast."

* * *

The gingerbread houses were cooling on the counters as the kids helped put the last batch of cookies into the oven. Mudgie and Clooney were prancing around the room licking up all the batter that had dropped onto the linoleum.

"I can't believe Christmas is tomorrow," Penelope sighed happily as she glanced at Ryan licking batter off a spoon. "He's going to be so surprised."

"You guys spoiled him didn't you?" Desiree asked.

"Like you guys aren't helping us," Penelope smiled at her.

"Guilty," she smiled back at her. "But I think Spencer is worst than me. You should see the loot he got for Ryan, Henry and Jack."

"He loves those kids as if they're his own," Penelope smiled. "He'll make a wonderful father someday."

"Waaay too soon for that conversation," Desiree could see the identical looks on all the women in the room. "We are just enjoying the here and now."

"I'm just saying that you will have no regrets when it comes to our Boy Wonder,"

"Duly noted," Desiree walked away from them to help the kids get some platters of cookies made up.

* * *

Later that evening, they all returned from caroling through the neighborhood. They had to end their night early when the snow started coming down so hard that they could barely see in front of them. It would definitely be a white Christmas for them all that year. They all stamped the snow off their boots and shook it off their coats and hats and gloves.

"Why don't we all get changed into our pajamas and meet back down here for some hot cocoa around the fire," Fran suggested.

"And I'll read The Night Before Christmas to all the little ones before we watch some Christmas movies as we all fall asleep."

They all agreed and went off to their rooms to get changed. Fran made up a big pot of hot chocolate and started getting out mugs with bags of marshmallows and the containers of whipped cream. Derek came downstairs as he spotted Penelope helping his mom and sisters finish preparing everyone's cocoa. His phone started going off and he dug it out of his pocket and glanced at the Caller ID.

"Gloria?" he clicked it on. "What's going on?...Yes. Just a moment…."

They all watched as he left the room to get some privacy. Penelope bit her lip, torn between staying where she was or going to join her fiance in the next room for support.

"Gloria?" JJ broke the tension. "Ryan's social worker?"

"That's the only Gloria he knows," Penelope said softly.

"But-they wouldn't give him bad news tonight, would they?" Emily asked.

"Not on Christmas Eve," Reid stated. "Hopefully."

The awkward tension was broken by the doorbell ringing. Penelope excused herself to go answer it, just to give herself something to do. She came back with a flat envelope.

"It's for Derek," she told them. "It's an expedited letter from the adoption agency."

Penelope's brothers joined everyone in an awkward silence as they watched their sister head off into the next room to find Derek.

"It's good news," Fran stated to the tense room. "It has to be."

"It will be good news," Dave embraced his wife. "That boy deserves it."

"Where's mom and dad?" they all looked back as Ryan came into the room wearing his new Ninja Turtles pajamas with the matching bathrobe and slippers; Penelope let it be his one present to open that night.

"Your dad got a phone call," Fran smiled at him. "And your mom went to give him a letter that arrived for him."

"A letter on Christmas Eve?"

"FedEx just dropped it off,"

"I'll go find them," Ryan walked off as the others stayed silent.

"Good news, good news," Desiree repeated as Reid squeezed her hand tightly in his own. "Please be good news."

* * *

Penelope joined Derek as he slowly hung up the phone. He looked at her in shock as she handed him the letter.

"This just came," she told him softly. "From the adoption agency."

"I think I already know what it says," he said softly. "The same thing that Gloria just told me."

"What-" Penelope watched as Derek ripped the letter open and handed it to her.

Penelope processed what the letter was saying as the door to the room they were in opened and Ryan came into them.

"What are you doing?" he looked at them.

Both Derek and Penelope had looks of apprehension on their faces as they thought about what they would tell him about the news they had just found out.

"Come here buddy," Derek held his hand out to him. "There's something that we need to tell you."

* * *

 **AN:** So sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger after so many months, but I need something to keep you hooked. Stay tuned for the next chapter. I'm hoping to post it sooner rather than later. PLZ R&R!

I know this is a few months late, but I would just like to thank everyone who voted for Dreaming Of Home in the Profiler's Choice Awards. It was the winner for Best Crossover Fic. Thank you to everyone who voted. I enjoy reading all your reviews/messages and appreciate all your kind words. Thank you again!


	56. Chapter 56: Christmas Blessings

**AN:** So sorry once again for the wait. It's getting a little harder to write this story, but I am determined to finish it for all of you. I hope you like this chapter. PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 56: Christmas Blessings**

"What's going on?" Ryan looked between Derek and Penelope.

"Come here buddy," Derek took his hand. "There's something that we need to tell you."

"What is it?" Ryan asked them.

"First, read this," Penelope handed him the legal document that Derek had received through FedEx.

"What does all this mean?" Ryan tried to decipher all the gibberish that jumped out at him on the page.

"Basically it's a lot of legal grownup words that all mean one thing," Penelope smiled at him.

"It means that you're staying right where you are," Derek smiled at him. "We're going to adopt you and you get to stay with us."

"Really?" Ryan looked up at them.

"Really," Derek picked him up and the three of them had a very tight group hug.

"You're not going anywhere buddy,"

They all stayed like that for several long minutes. Eventually they all pulled apart and Ryan was placed on the ground again.

"We should probably go let everyone else know what's going on with us," Penelope said. "We did have pretty somber looks on our faces before we left the room."

"Ryan, you go tell them." Derek handed him the legal documents. "And show them all this."

"All right," Ryan led the way back to everyone.

* * *

Everyone else was standing around the kitchen island waiting for Derek, Ryan or Penelope to come back into them. All of the older kids were keeping the younger kids distracted from the tension in the room. Suddenly they all heard running feet as the door burst open and Ryan ran in waving a piece of paper.

"I'm getting adopted!" he announced as he ran right over to Fran and Dave.

"What-" Fran looked back as her son and future daughter-in-law rejoined them as well. "Is this true?"

"It's true," Derek stated. "Mrs. Cohen dropped the petition."

"And the court date at the beginning of the year just got changed to an adoption hearing." Penelope told them.

"So Ryan's staying?" Sarah asked.

"He's staying,"

Everyone cheered as all the kids came in to see what was going on. When they were told what happened, they all ran to Ryan to hug their new cousin. Dave got out some sparkling cider for all of them to celebrate as Ryan was passed around all the adults so they could give him big hugs.

* * *

Derek and Penelope watched Ryan sleep after he passed out as the second movie ended. They all had gathered into the living room to listen to Dave tell them The Night Before Christmas. Then they picked out several movies to watch until all the kids fell asleep.

"Finally," Tim sighed as he glanced down at Jazzlyn. "The last one is asleep."

"Let's get them all up to bed then we can get ready for tomorrow," Joe told them all.

Derek lifted Ryan into his arms and started up the stairs towards their room. He walked in and gently placed him on the bed and covered him up as Clooney came in behind him.

"You watch over him boy," Derek told the pooch as he jumped up onto the bed and lay down beside Ryan.

Derek walked back downstairs and spotted everyone getting all the presents set up. Penelope was setting up all their presents for Ryan as Dave and Fran were bringing all the big presents in from the garage.

Derek set to work putting together the Ninja Turtles playset while Penelope set up the art desk they had gotten for Ryan. The atmosphere in the room was filled with euphoria as they all talked about Ryan's adoption party that was already being planned.

Derek positioned the playset in front of their area of the tree as Penelope finished filling Ryan's stocking and hung it back up.

"This will be a good Christmas," Derek smiled as he pushed the bike in front.

"A great Christmas," Penelope corrected.

"It's already a great Christmas," JJ told them. "You guys are adopting him."

"Technically, just Derek is right now." Penelope said.

"Technicality," Derek told her. "It will be official once we're married."

"And when will that be?" Olivia asked.

"We're not sure yet," Penelope said. "I want my whole family there when we do though."

"So you're going to wait up to a year for my deployment to end just so I can come?" Mitchell spoke up. "That's crazy."

"No it's not," Penelope stated firmly. "Now that I have all of you in my life again, I want you all there for all the important things in my life."

"But still-"

"There's an easy fix to this," Fran spoke up.

"Oh, here we go." Dave mumbled.

"What?" Derek looked at his mom.

"Have the wedding before he leaves,"

"We barely have anything set right now," Penelope told them all. "We can't get everything ready before he leaves."

"Never underestimate her," Dave said.

"There's a blizzard coming right now as it is," Penelope told them. "We can't make any plans right now."

"We'll wait until it passes and see how everything is,"

"Ma," Derek looked at her. "Let it go."

"Ok I will," Fran sighed. "For now."

Derek shook his head as he went back to organizing all the presents. Penelope and Derek were too busy discussing Ryan's first Christmas with them that they didn't notice all the girls whispering in a huddle.

"Do you think we can pull it off?" Olivia asked.

"If we all work together," Emily told her.

"Those two don't stand a chance," Tim stated as he watched his wife scheme while his sister was oblivious.

* * *

Derek felt himself shake and slowly peeled his eyes open as he saw Penelope getting out of bed. He slowly sat up as he realized that Ryan was still fast asleep beside him.

"What's going on?" he rubbed his eyes.

"It's Christmas morning," she smiled at him. "I can smell your mom making her cinnamon rolls. Let's wake him up."

"He's still a little hesitant about all of this," Derek looked at Ryan. "We still need to ease him into this."

"I think last night may have changed everything for him."

"We still need to be cautious," he told her.

"You're right," she sighed.

"Wake up!" Jazzlyn came into them and jumped onto the bed. "Santa came!"

"What-" Ryan sat up and rubbed his eyes, still disoriented from his sleep. "Jazzy?"

"Ryan, Santa came! Let's go!"

"Oh," Ryan smiled as he scrambled off the bed and followed Jazzlyn out of the room, confusion on Derek's face.

"That was….strange." he stated.

"Maybe he's opening himself up to everything," Penelope suggested.

"Maybe," Derek climbed out of bed and followed her out of the room.

They slowly walked down the stairs and found all the kids in the sitting room. Ryan was in the middle of everyone with Jack and Henry beside him as they all emptied out their stockings.

"Cinnamon rolls," Fran announced as she set a big platter out on the coffee table.

"What do you got there buddy?" Derek sat on the couch with Penelope right behind where Ryan was.

"I got a mini sketchbook...erasable colored pencils...chocolates...playing cards…"

Derek and Penelope smiled as he seemed to enjoy seeing what he got from Santa. All the kids finished looking through their stockings and everyone had some more cinnamon rolls with coffee or hot cocoa.

"So should we get this started?" Fran asked.

"Yes!" All of the kids shouted.

"Everyone, go for it!" Dave announced and there was a scramble to pass out all the presents.

"Are those mine?" Ryan looked at the presents that were too big to wrap.

"Yes they are," Derek smiled at him. "What do you think?"

Ryan sat on the bike briefly before running to the art desk and examining the Ninja Turtles playset.

"Open the desk," Penelope told him.

"Wow," Ryan flipped up the lid and saw it packed with all kinds of art supplies.

"That room where I do my crafts will now be shared with you," she told him and he ran over to hug them. "So that you have a quiet space to work."

"Thank you,"

"You have more to open," Derek told him and he ran to the tree as Derek handed out the rest of the presents.

"A PSP and a tablet?" Ryan asked. "I get both?"

"Of course," Penelope smiled.

After Ryan opened all his presents, he handed out the presents that he got his parents. Derek smiled as he found a new tool belt; painted with designs by Ryan.

"Do you like it?" Ryan asked softly.

"I love it buddy," he hugged him tightly.

"Your turn mom," Ryan handed her a square package.

"I didn't help him with this one, Baby Girl." Derek told her. "This is all Ryan."

"It's for your baking," Ryan said once she had opened it.

"A great addition for my collection," Penelope smiled at the donut maker. "We can make some the next time we have a Saturday morning off. And you can help me."

"Go give these to your grandparents and your aunts and uncles." Derek handed several packages to Ryan.

"Got it," Ryan handed them out one-by-one and everyone opened them to see Ryan's framed school picture and a family photo of the three of them.

"This is the perfect gift," Fran smiled.

* * *

Several hours later, Fran was finishing up preparing their dinner as all the kids were trying out their new gifts. Dave had taken Ryan outside to test out his new 4-wheeler, but they came back in when it started to snow again. All the kids gathered around to watch the new Avengers movie that Ryan had received as the adults finally relaxed.

"So…" Penelope looked up at Derek as she rested back on him. "Good Christmas?"

"Great Christmas," he smiled at her as he glanced at Ryan surrounded by his new extended family. "I don't know how we're going to top it."

"I can think of a way," Dave announced as the rest of the adults turned to smile at the couple.

"What's going on?" Derek slowly sat up.

"Your wedding just got moved up….to tonight."

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think? Another cliffhanger...kind of. I hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!

 ** _HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!_**


	57. Chapter 57: Happy Ending

**AN:** This is officially the last chapter of this story. I'm sorry if you think it ended too abruptly. I was just very determined to finish this for all of you. There is an announcement at the end of this chapter. Please be sure to read it after you have read the chapter. Thank you to all my followers and reviewers. You are what kept me to continue this story. All of your kind words meant a lot to me. Now...PLZ R&R!

 **Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 57: Happy Ending**

"Your wedding just got moved up….to tonight."

"What?" Penelope looked at all of her friends surrounding her with devilish smiles on their faces.

"We decided that we didn't want to wait for you two to get married," JJ stated.

"So it's happening tonight," Emily spoke up.

"Now hold on," Penelope sat up.

"You are not waiting four years to get married when my deployment ends just so that the entire family is there," Mitchell stated.

"We have all waited too long for you guys to even get together," Dave spoke up.

"We're not waiting any longer for you to officially start your lives together as a family of four."

"You are so doing this tonight," Fran stated firmly. "Even if I have to bound and gag the both of you and force you down the aisle."

"Where exactly will the aisle be?" Derek asked.

"Move the furniture aside and it's an aisle,"

"Please," Ryan went up to them. "I want you both to be able to adopt me when the hearing comes up."

"Ok, not fair." Derek looked at all his friends and family that were surrounding them. "You can't use the kid against us."

"Why not?" Sarah asked.

"Because it's not fair,"

"So it's working then?" the group waited while the couple mulled it over.

They had a silent conversation using just their secret looks.

"Ok," Penelope said finally. "Let's do this. Tonight."

* * *

The next few hours were spent with everyone rearranging the sitting room to make room for the setup of the makeshift aisle. Everyone took all the decorations they had been hoarding for several weeks out of storage and started to set it all up. JJ and Emily took Penelope to get ready upstairs while Derek was directed to a room on the lower level of the house. Everyone got into their nice dress clothes as Dave talked on his phone to several of his friends, making sure that they would all be able to make it that night because the roads were starting to get bad.

"You look amazing," Emily smiled as Penelope came out to them.

"I can't believe it fits me," Penelope stated as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. "My mom always said she was saving this for me."

"Now this is the one that-"

"She got married to my dad in this," Penelope stated. "She got rid of the one she was wearing when she married Kenneth."

"So all good luck in this," Fran smiled as she made sure the dress fit her.

"All good luck for the both of you from this moment on," Shelley stated.

* * *

Derek came out of the bathroom after getting changed into his tux and helping Ryan with his. Everyone watched their interaction with each other as Derek talked to Ryan.

"So when you marry mom…." Ryan started.

"What about it?" Derek looked at him.

"She'll officially be my mom right?"

"She's been your mom for several months already,"

"I mean, no one can take me away from you right? Once the papers are signed?"

"You are ours forever," Derek smiled at him as he hugged him tightly.

"Good," Ryan mumbled.

"The girls are ready," Dave announced as he stepped into the room. "Are we?"

"Are we ready?" Derek looked down at Ryan.

"Yep," he smiled brightly.

"Let's get this show on the road then," Dave clapped his hands.

"Do you have them?" Derek looked down at Ryan.

"I'm keeping them safe," Ryan showed him the pocket of his inner jacket, where he had put the rings Derek had given him for safekeeping.

"Good job," Derek smiled at him.

Everyone walked out of the room and took their places in the sitting room. The room looked amazing. Everyone had done a great job decorating and clearing out the furniture to make room for the walkway. They left the Christmas trees up to add to the festive decorations that were put up for the ceremony.

Derek stood with the minister, with Ryan in his place next to him as the best man. Everyone else took their places and filled in the seats. All of the girls that Penelope named bridesmaids filed in one-by-one and took their places. Everyone stood up as music started to play and they all gasped at Penelope being walked down the aisle by Dave.

Derek's heart seemed to stop as he caught sight of the beautiful angel making her way down the aisle towards him and their son.

"Dearly Beloved…."

* * *

The celebration lasted long after midnight; all the kids managed to stay awake from the sugar rush they were experiencing from having all the goodies and sweets. A few hours after the ceremony, Derek and Penelope left the main house and were escorted to the guest house by Dave, who insisted that they have a traditional wedding night. They were already making plans to have an official honeymoon once the adoption was official and everything wasn't so crazy for them.

* * *

A few days later, Derek and Penelope were dressed and ready to head out to the courthouse. Penelope was in a flowing sundress while Derek was in a pair of dark jeans, a button-down dress shirt and black tie. They were just waiting on Ryan.

"Come on kid!" Derek called. "We're about to make this official."

"Is this ok?" Ryan slowly came down to them wearing an outfit similar to Derek's.

"What you're wearing is fine," Penelope told him. "Are we ready?"

"Yes, definitely!" Ryan ran to them and they headed out to the car.

The three of them walked into the courthouse and smiled as they saw everyone else waiting for them. Derek and Penelope's families, along with their BAU family, were smiling as the family walked up to them.

"Are you ready for today?" Desiree asked them.

"I've been ready for months," Derek told them.

"Ryan!" they all looked and saw a curly-haired boy running towards them.

"Seth?" Ryan was shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Penelope invited us a couple days ago," Seth told him as Ryan spotted Sandy and Kirsten slowly walking up to the group.

"I hope it's ok," Penelope looked at him.

"Dad?" Ryan looked at Derek.

"I am absolutely fine with all of this," Derek assured him. "As long as you are."

"I hope there's room for one more," they all heard behind them.

"Mark!" Ryan ran to him and hugged him tightly. "You haven't visited like you said you would."

"I've had a tough go of it," he told him. "It's been tough trying to rectify the last director's mistakes."

"How bad is it?" Derek asked him.

"Bad," Mark sighed. "But let's not talk about that right now. Because today is for celebrating."

"Absolutely," Fran smiled.

The big group filed into the courtroom as the judge came out to start the proceedings. Normally only the ones adopting and the adoptee were allowed into the room, but Dave called in a favor to get the judge to allow them all into the room.

"Let us begin," the judge stated as he smiled at the packed courtroom. "We are here for the adoption proceedings of Ryan Atwood."

Derek, Penelope and Ryan sat together at the table facing the judge with big smiles on their faces. They all took turns signing their names on the official document that the judge handed them.

"This is my favorite part of my job," the judge notarized the papers and smiled at the three people before him and the extended family surrounding them. "It is with great pleasure that I announce the official adoption of Ryan Atwood, now Ryan Atwood-Morgan to his parents Derek and Penelope Morgan. Congratulations, it's a boy!"

Everyone in the room shouted out and applauded as the new Morgan family shared a group hug. Several pictures were taken with them as well as the judge; Hotch had talked the bailiff into taking a picture of the whole group with Ryan, Derek and Penelope front and center.

Ryan walked in between his new parents as they all walked down the courthouse steps, clutching both their hands tightly as he smiled brightly up at them.

* * *

Everyone was invited back to Derek and Penelope's house for a celebration. All the kids ran all over the house; Ryan kept running upstairs and downstairs and back again. Malachi and Keaton showed up with their families to join in with the celebration. All of Ryan's cousins ran around with him, glad that he was now an official member of their family.

"Why did I try to take him from these guys?" Kirsten looked at Sandy. "He's so happy here. Much happier than he was with us."

"I told you," Sandy smiled at his wife, happy that he had his wife back.

"I can't believe that I was willing to take away his happiness,"

"Well I'm sure that they're all grateful that you came to your senses,"

"We are," Derek and Penelope came up to them. "We are so thankful to you that we can be his family now and forever."

"But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be apart of it," Penelope spoke up. "We would love it if we could have a friendly relationship with all of you."

"We'd love that," Kirsten smiled at them.

"So it's settled then. You are now officially a part of our extended family."

"What does that mean exactly?" Sandy asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," Derek smirked at them. "Pretty soon, you will be bombarded with daily emails and updates about Ryan."

"I look forward to it." Kirsten smiled.

"Who's ready for some cake?" Fran announced and all the kids cheered.

"Mom! Dad!" Ryan ran to them and Derek swung him up into his arms.

Everyone watched on as the new family sat down at the counter to eat their cake together. Dave smiled as he recalled the conversation he had with Ryan about why he decided to have two last names.

In Ryan's own words:

"Atwood is for a reminder of the past that I will never have again. Morgan is for my present and future, where nothing is impossible. As long as I have mom and dad, nothing is impossible for me."

Truer words were never spoken.

* * *

 **AN:** So what'd you all think of this last chapter? I hope you liked it. PLZ R&R!

 _And now my announcement:_

 _I think that I may be stepping back from fanfiction writing. I will try my best to finish the in-progress stories that I already have on here, but I most likely won't be posting anything new. I will still be on here keeping up with all of you and all your wonderful stories though._

 _The reason that I will be stepping back is because I would like to see if I can make a go of writing professionally. Other than my dream job of working with kids, my other passion is writing. Several days ago, I found a story that I had written more than twelve years ago. It was all written freehand because back then I was still living with my dad and couldn't afford my own computer. I would very much like to type it out and rework it so that I could possibly get it published. The first step would be to get it published as an ebook through Kindle before eventually getting it into publication to the public._

 _I hope that you all support me. I will try to keep you all updated about my progress on my profile page. Thank you for all your support throughout these past several years and I hope that you will continue to support me through this very scary step that I decided to take._

 _Thank you and much love,_

 _bobbiejod_


End file.
